The Courtship of Sophie Hatter
by BabyKay47
Summary: Happily Ever After doesn't come as quickly as Howl would like.
1. Prologue

_Immediately following events at the end of the novel…_

"I'm so glad you're back!" Sophie exclaimed, feeling genuinely glad that Calcifer had returned. Since she had discovered that she could touch Calcifer without getting burned, she reached down and picked him up out of the grate. Then she promptly kissed him on an enflamed cheek. Howl, Sophie, and Michael laughed as his face changed from blue to red in embarrassment. It was odd to find the usually quick-witted fire demon rather tongue-tied at Sophie's expression of affection.

"Sophie, dear," Fanny said, interrupting the mirthful group, "you mustn't stay here any longer."

That especially caught Howl and Sophie's attention.

"Why not?" Sophie asked with surprise.

"It isn't at all proper for a very beautiful young woman to be living in a house with an unmarried man, especially one with Howl's reputation."

"If you're suggesting that we get married, I am in complete agreement," Howl stated confidently.

"That I am," Fanny said. "But as it is you haven't asked her yet, and I do believe that she deserves to be courted…just to make sure that you _are_ truly in love with her." Mrs. Fairfax, Lettie, and Martha all saw this was a good idea and nodded in agreement. Lettie still did not quite trust Howl and felt protective of her older sister.

Michael objected. "But I know that Howl's in love with Sophie. He didn't even bother to shave or comb his hair today!" Sophie laughed at this, thinking about how it had led her to draw the wrong conclusion that Howl was in love with Miss Angorian.

"There isn't a doubt in my mind," Howl said gazing at her adoringly. Sophie felt enormously pleased. "But if you insist on a proper courtship and engagement, I will comply. I don't want to have any doubts on her part either."

"What? You don't believe that I love you?" Sophie asked, and then turned pink realizing that it was the first time that she had spoken her feelings aloud.

"What kind of coward do you take me for?" Howl asked incredulously. "I know very well that there are other men more deserving of your affections than me. I would much rather that we get married right away so that there would be no possible way any other such man could come after you and steal you away. But since your mother insists, I will do my duty as a gentleman."

"Why, Howl, that's very brave of you."

"It's settled then!" Fanny exclaimed grasping Sophie's arm. "You'll come live with me and my new husband—just for a little while, until you and Howl work things out. I can't wait for you to meet Mr. Smith! He's so kind and wonderful, I'm sure you'll adore him."

Fanny couldn't help but feel satisfied. She didn't really doubt Howl's feelings for her stepdaughter, reputation aside, but she couldn't help but think that maybe there was something out there better for Sophie. She still felt guilty for the way she had boxed her into taking over the hat shop, and so she wanted to give Sophie the chance to explore her options just a bit before committing herself to marriage. And she also couldn't help but notice the way Prince Justin stared admiringly at Sophie. It would be nice to have a powerful wizard as a son-in-law, but perhaps it would be nicer to have a Prince.


	2. In which Sophie receives two visitors

**Chapter 1: In which Sophie receives two visitors**

Sophie woke up in the unfamiliar room and blinked her eyes sleepily until she felt reoriented. Sophie could not yet feel completely comfortable in her mother's house. The night before, her mother had dragged her out of Howl's home, threw her into her carriage and whisked her away to a large newly renovated mansion. Or at least it felt like she had been abducted when her mother had not too subtly hinted that it was time for them to leave. She hadn't wanted to go, and had only relented at Howl's gentle urging and promise that he would come see her the next day.

After meeting her new stepfather, a small older gentleman who didn't say very much, but who seemed polite enough, her mother had introduced her to a servant named Fiona who had helped her get ready for bed. It had been strange to have been waited on after she had spent her entire life waiting on other people. It was strange to have her own room rather than a tiny cubbyhole. And the room was rather extravagant. A huge four post bed with large fluffy pillows and luxurious bedspread dominated the room. There was also a large wardrobe filled with pretty clothes that she was almost afraid to touch lest she dirty them. But the most disconcerting thing about the room was the fireplace that warmed it with a simple blaze rather than a talking fire demon. It had only been one night and she already missed the blue-faced flame. She also missed Michael, and supposed that he had already returned to eating a breakfast of bread and cheese without her there to cook for him. Or perhaps he had gone out to Cesari's for breakfast, and to see Martha, of course. But mostly she missed Howl despite how insufferably long he took in the bathroom, and how lazy and dirty his habits were. Because when he smiled at her in that roguish way of his, she felt her knees go weak and thought that she had swallowed a field full of butterflies. She really hoped that he would come to see her soon, as he had promised.

Getting out of bed she quickly washed herself with the cool water left in the hand basin and got dressed, unwilling to wake Fiona and allow her to help. Then she went downstairs to the kitchen for a small breakfast. It was full of servants bustling around doing their chores. Among them was Fiona. Obviously Sophie had had no need to worry about waking her, but was still glad that she hadn't bothered her with something as simple as getting dressed.

"What are ye doin' down 'ere?" Fiona asked, scandalized to see her mistress in the kitchen.

"I was hoping I could get some tea and toast."

"Ye aren't supposed to even be up yet. Mrs. Smith told me to let ye sleep in since ye 'ad been through such an ordeal yesterday. And then I was goin' to let ye break yer fast in the mornin' room."

"There's no need for that!" Sophie replied good-humouredly. "As you can see I woke and got myself dressed. I'm a morning person. I hate to waste the day sleeping in." _Unlike Howl, _an impatient thought flit through her mind.

"I'm so sorry, ma'am! I'll never let it happen again."

"It's quite all right. I really don't need you to take care of me."

"But that's my job!" she exclaimed, reminding Sophie of herself when she was told to keep her busy hands out of Howl's room. Hopefully Fiona wouldn't be as stubborn as she was.

"All right," Sophie relented. "Show me to the morning room."

Fiona quickly got off the stool she had been sitting on kneading dough and hurried out of the kitchen. Sophie followed into a brightly painted yellow room on the side of the house where the morning rays shone in and reflected the light, reminding her of the funny light she had seen coming out of the ceiling in Howl's sister's home that was too strong to be from fire. Fresh cut flowers filled the morning room, and a cozy fire in the hearth knocked off the chill of the early morning. Sophie sat down at the table Fiona indicated she should.

"Where is my mother anyway? Do you know?" Sophie asked.

"She's still asleep, mum. She won't be up until much later."

"And Mr. Smith?"

"Gone to his offices. 'e works quite hard, 'e does. E'en though 'e doesn't have to. I think 'e's afeered of bein' poor."

"So I'll be eating breakfast alone?"

"Aye. But everyone will be 'round come supper time." With that said, the maid scurried away like a little mouse, leaving Sophie to tap her fingers against the linen tablecloth as she waited for breakfast. _I'm so bored I don't know what to do with myself, _she thought. _And this place is already so neat there isn't even any cleaning for me to do. Not that Fiona would let me, I bet._ Just as she was debating whether she should rearrange the flowers in the vase before her on the table, Fiona came in again telling her that a caller was here to see her.

_Howl! _Her heart jumped with excitement. Once again she thanked her lucky stars that she was young once more. She didn't think her heart would be able to take it if it was still ninety years old.

She stood up with a huge smile on her face that disappeared when she saw that her visitor was none other than Prince Justin. Then she immediately curtsied low when she realized that he was _Prince _Justin.

"There is no need, milady," he said, stepping into the room, and lifting her to stand by her elbows. "It is I who should be bowing to you."

"Me?"

"It is in part to your kindness that I stand here before you today."

"I didn't do anything. It was Howl who broke the curse on you. You remember that I tried. But I do not have enough power for that."

"Of course you do." He smiled handsomely at her, showing two rows of perfectly white, perfectly straight teeth. He wasn't attractive in the striking way that Howl was, as his features were rather unremarkable, his hair an unruly mass of curls on his head, and his eyes a dull brown, but he had a charming and amiable air that made him seem better-looking than he really was. Noticing his meticulous appearance she wondered if he spent as much time getting dressed as Howl did. Then she quickly batted that thought away. He couldn't have if he was here this early.

As if sensing her thoughts, "I haven't come too early?" he asked.

Sophie shook her head. "Oh, no! Of course not. Though, I was just about to have—"

"Splendid!" he interrupted. "Would you mind taking a walk with me around the garden? Mr. Smith is a good friend of the Royal family and I do believe I'm pretty familiar with the property. Have you been able to take a look around yet? Oh, no, I'm sure you haven't seeing as you've only been here a night. I'll show it to you. It's quite beautiful." He took her arm in his and escorted her out the house.

The morning was so young that the grass was still wet from last evening's showers and she felt the dampness soak through her soft slippers, which were not made for walking outside. She hoped they wouldn't be totally ruined as they were so lovely. They quickly crossed the lawn and made it into the garden enclosure where rows and rows of petunias, begonias, pansies, marigolds and impatiens of all different colors were neatly on display. It reminded her of her little flower shop and she wondered when she would get a chance to see it again. She had to remind herself that she had only just been there yesterday, and surely Michael would take care of it without her.

They walked in silence, admiring the view until the Prince stopped to look at her, finding her to be the most beautiful object in the garden. The sun glistened off her red-gold locks making it shine like a halo. Her pale skin glowed fresh with her youth and health. And her blue eyes sparkled with intelligence and good-humor.

"My dear, Miss Hatter—"

"Please, call me Sophie. 'Miss Hatter' makes me feel like an old maid."

"Sophie, then," he replied smiling graciously. "I was wondering…if there is anything that I can do to repay you for the kindness you have shown me. I feel indebted to you, and I could not live with myself if you would not let me return the favor in some way."

"Why—no! You don't owe me anything. I only did for you what I would have done for any stray animal. I cannot help but feel sorry for the poor dears."

"Well, I'm very glad that you have such a kind heart. But I cannot help but hope that you showed me just slightly more attention than you would have to any other, considering you always slipped me the choicest scraps from the table." He winked at her, and Sophie could not help but laugh.

"I—well, of course I did. I think I new instinctually that you were a prince and that being nice to you, I should be nicely rewarded."

"Sophie, you wound me, by not allowing me to think that you like me for my own merits."

"Well, I do like you…" She didn't like the way that came out. "Well enough…considering I don't know you that well."

"That's good enough…for now. I now consider my ego sufficiently flattered. But again, I'd like to help you. In some way. Please let me."

"I don't know what you can do."

"Have you given any thought as to what you'd like to do with your life now that your curse has been broken?"

"Yes…" she rather thought that she would live Happily Ever After with Howl, like in the story tales she'd read incessantly when she was a child. "I think I'd like to continue running Howl's flower shop. I can balance ledgers, and order things that we'll need like vases and ribbons and cards, just like I have been doing."

"You don't think you'd like to do…something more?" he asked, leaning in close to peer at her face.

"Like what?" She had thought about asking Howl to teach her some magic. She had a natural gift for it, but there were things that were out of her league, as long as she remained ignorant about them.

"You were wrong about not being able to take off the curse on me. I think you have the potential to be a powerful sorceress. I could sense that immediately." He stared deeply into her eyes and she realized that they had flecks of crimson that made them quite beautiful in an unusual way and not as dull as she originally thought. "I think you've put a spell on me."

Whatever the spell was, it was broken when Sophie's stomach let out a loud grumble letting them both know how hungry she was. She looked away embarrassed.

"I should get you back inside. I can see I interrupted your breakfast. Why didn't you tell me earlier?"

Sophie was going to tell him that she had tried to tell him, but he'd already taken her arm in his again and was walking back towards the house. He left her on the top of the stairs to the front door after kissing her hand.

Sophie returned to the morning room and tried not to think about her disconcerting _tête-à-tête_ with the Prince. As soon as she was finally able to settle down for some tea and toast, Fiona came into the sitting room to tell her that she had another visitor. She didn't want to get her hopes up again that it was Howl only to be disappointed, so she stayed seated where she was. When Howl walked into the room she jumped up and flew into his arms, much to his surprise, and was obliged when he wrapped his arms around her in a tender embrace. She pulled away with some discontentment at how he had doused himself liberally with a flowery scent. It was so strong that she thought perhaps that he had bathed in a tub of roses. She also noticed that he had dyed his hair blond again, and his cheeks were as bare and smooth as a baby's bottom. She felt disappointed and Howl noticed immediately.

"Is something the matter, Sophie dear?"

"I was just wondering…how long did you spend in the bathroom this morning?"

"Does it really matter?" he asked in that same confused tone he had when she wanted to know whether the black suit he'd worn to Mrs. Pentstemmon's funeral was the charmed gray-and-scarlet suit or the blue-and-silver one.

"No—well, yes, it does…to me anyway."

"Just to soothe your raging curiosity, Mrs. Nose," he told her, kissing her nose affectionately, "I spent no less than three hours. I even got up early to do it—"

"_You _up before noon?" Sophie gasped.

"After my misadventures yesterday I was thoroughly in need of a makeover. _You_ had given me the scare of my life—taking off ten years of it, I'm sure—and I looked it. You know, I think I saw a gray hair growing? What with you running off after the Witch of the Waste. It was enough to split hairs, which I naturally had to trim off…"

"Howl, you are the vainest man I have ever met!" Sophie exclaimed, exasperated.

"But you love me anyway," he grinned confidently.

Sophie smiled at Howl adoringly, knowing that he spoke only the truth. Then her expression turned more serious. "You know, I've never told you how I felt."

"I could tell."

"How?"

"The way you would look at me when you weren't looking."

"What do you mean by that?"

"I mean sometimes when you weren't so determined to look like a ninety-year-old woman I could see the real you peaking through."

"Isn't that more of a reason for you to fall in love with me?"

"I fell in love with you the moment I saw a little gray mouse on her way to visit her sister."

"Howl!" she growled. "You're not being serious!" She hit him in the arm as he laughed at her.

"Well, this is going to sound terribly unromantic, but at first I felt sorry for you. I knew you were under a spell, but you still looked old enough to be my mother…grandmother even. And I was curious about what you would look like without it on you. I tried rather hard, but you kept resisting me. So you see, at first you were just a challenge. Like all of my other conquests." Howl smiled self-deprecatingly thinking about all philandering he had done.

"But you saw through all of my tricks. You weren't the only one hiding behind a mask. I was too. Hiding how scared I was about my responsibility to the king, hiding my fears about my contract with Calcifer, hiding the doubts I had about my ability to love by chasing anything in a skirt I could find. And you wouldn't let me get away with it. Not with you. And I didn't need to impress you. In fact, I did my very best to show you the very worst sides of me. But you weren't afraid of me either." Howl admired Sophie's bravery, and how her eyes would light up when she was angry. Sophie was one of those women who looked best when their dander was up…even when she was ninety-years-old. Or maybe especially. And Howl had found their fights to be some of the most exhilarating and stimulating moments in his life.

"I realized how much I cared for you when that scarecrow came and nearly gave you a heart attack. You looked so pale and sick; I was desperate to get the spell off of you." He shook his head as if to ward off the feelings the memory brought up. "You really must let me die before you. I don't know what I'd do without you," he quipped. Even though he smiled jokingly, the harsh quality of his voice belied the levity of his words and revealed deep emotion.

Sophie let his words settle in her brain. Even though it wasn't as romantic as love at first sight, it made sense. Not only had she been old, but she had been quite temperamental and volatile. But he had been patient with her.

"Do you want to know why I fell in love with you?"

"Is it because I'm so devilishly handsome?"

"No! None of that is real, anyway."

"Why you—I oughta—contrary wench!" Howl sputtered.

This time it was Sophie's turn to laugh. "It's the truth. There's no use denying it."

"I set myself up for that one," he conceded, grumbling.

Sophie reached out a hand and caressed his cheek. "You are beautiful, though. The most beautiful man I have ever seen. But that's not why I love you. I love how brave you are. And how kind. You let an old woman come into your home and turn the whole place inside out. You adopted a young boy who lost his parents and agreed to teach him magic. You caught a falling star and gave your heart away to save its life. You have such a big heart. And I'm so honored that you let me have a piece of it."

"Not just a piece," he told her, covering her hand where it rested with his own, "You have all of it." He brought her wrist to his mouth so he could kiss it. A shiver went down her spine at the sensation. His other arm went around her waist where he pulled her closer to him and gently began stroking her back. Their faces were so close together she could feel his breath blowing across her nose. It had a clean minty scent. She closed her eyes and leaned closer as he bent his head.

"Yer breakfast, mistress," Fiona said, interrupting them. She glowered at Howl whom she seemed to think was standing too close for propriety's sake. Or perhaps she was remembering all those rumors about what a womanizing lecher he was.

Howl sighed and kissed Sophie's cheek, then let her go. "I should let you eat."

"Stay and have breakfast with me?" she implored.

"I would love to. But I have a meeting with the King and Ben Suliman. Besides, I'm sure your maid would have a conniption fit if I stayed."

"Come back for dinner, will you?"

"I will try. If I don't die from boredom first." He bowed reverently, then walked swiftly out of the room.

Sophie sat down and began to eat her breakfast. She wished more than anything that Fiona had not interrupted. She knew that Howl had been ready to kiss her. Her heartbeat sped up and she panted slightly just at the thought of it. Her first kiss. They hadn't gotten a chance to be alone last night, and she was sure that if they had, he would have kissed her then. _If only…_she mused, licking strawberry jam off her lips.


	3. In which there is most awkward

**Chapter 2: In which there is most awkward conversation at dinner with the Smiths**

By the time Sophie finished breakfast Fanny was awake and bustling her out of the house to go shopping in Kingsbury.

"Sophie, you always wear the dreariest clothes!" Fanny admonished her daughter.

"But this is one of the dresses I found in the wardrobe in my room. They are of exceptional quality."

"Silly Sophie! The fabric is pretty fine, but those weren't for you. They belonged to the former Mrs. Smith—may she rest in peace. His mother—not his first wife, though she's dead too, though he got rid of all her stuff a long time ago...I get the feeling that there's was a disastrous match, and she only married him for his money. Anyway, Mr. Smith just didn't have the heart to get rid of them—his mother's clothes that is—so I put them in that room since at the time it was unoccupied even though I knew I wanted it to be your room although I had no idea where you were! I looked for you everywhere, but you vanished without a trace, and I wondered if you wanted me not to know where you were. I kept hearing Martha's words over and over in my head when she found out that you were gone about how I had exploited you, and I just knew that I had driven you away, for which I can't tell you how wretched I felt about it. You can't imagine the guilt that tore at me all those weeks that you were gone. You, the daughter that I have always loved as my own. And now you're back. Can you find it in your heart to forgive me? You do forgive me, don't you?" Before Sophie could respond, Fanny was plucking at a fold in her skirt, her mind obviously preoccupied with other things. "Well, these clothes are much too old-fashioned for you. Not flattering at all." She frowned at the collar that came all the way up to her neck, and at the dull gray color. "Mr. Smith's mother was certainly a dowdy old biddy… you are much to pretty to where such ugly things."

Fanny took her to the shop of one of her friends who was a seamstress. Upon seeing Sophie, she clucked her tongue in disapproval. She immediately set to business taking Sophie's measurements and picking out colors and patterns for a slew of dresses she had in mind. "You are going to look like a princess!" the excited seamstress exclaimed. Fanny beamed.

Sophie and Fanny spent the entire day in the shop, Fanny gossiping and Sophie getting poked and prodded. But at the end of the day she had a new dress, since Madam Gerard refused to return the dowdy dress she had been wearing, and several more on order, as well as new shoes, stockings, stays and hats.

When they finally returned home, Sophie was surprised that Mr. Smith was already there, though still pleased since she was hungry for dinner and didn't want to have to wait. She sat patiently with him and her mother in the parlor room as Fanny chattered about all they had done that day, until she realized that dinner wasn't being served yet. Then irritation set in.

"Isn't it dinner time?" Sophie asked Fanny who was in the middle of describing one of the silks that was going to be used in one of Sophie's new dresses.

"We're waiting for our guests to arrive," Fanny explained.

Sophie didn't have much time to wonder who would be coming to dinner when George, the butler, escorted Howl into the room. "Wizard Pendragon is here," he introduced.

Howl kissed the hand Fanny extended in greeting, and then bowed respectfully to Mr. Smith.

When he turned his attentions towards Sophie, she quirked a brow. "Pendragon, eh? Not Oak, or Elm, or some other tree?"

"We are near Kingsbury." She blushed when he kissed her hand too, which she had extended belatedly. Then he sat down next to her, so that he could whisper in her ear. "You look…enchanting. However did your mother convince you to wear something so pretty? I thought you would have cut it up into forty-seven ragged pieces."

"I like pretty things!" she exclaimed, defensively.

"I know…but you never _wore_ them."

"Well, if you remember…it's because I spent most of my time cleaning _your_ filthy house. Now I don't have to."

"I seem to remember a little gray mouse skittering through the dark alleys of Market Chipping."

"That dress was comfortable!"

"Ah, so then you do admit to wearing hideously unattractive clothing."

"Well, why should _I_ dress up when you spend more than enough time worrying about your appearance for the both of us!"

"And I must say, I was missing out," he replied, leeringly. "You cut the most astonishing figure in that blue dress of yours. The color brings out your eyes, making them sparkle most delightfully—when you're not glaring daggers at me, that is. And is that color on your lips? It makes your mouth seem fuller—when it's not scolding me with that rather sharp tongue of yours, that is. And I especially love all that creamy skin exposed with the low cut of your bodice. You are the most lovely creature I have ever seen."

Sophie blushed deeply…with anger. "Really, Howl! You must stop playing the dashing scoundrel. I know the way you like to flirt and compliment the ladies you are wooing and I thought we were past that! I know you couldn't actually believe all those nice things about me. You're only being courteous."

"'Courteous?' My dear Sophie, I haven't seen any woman who was as afraid of a compliment as other women are afraid of being deserted. 'Courteous' indeed!" Howl scowled with resentment. He felt his own anger rise up at the idea that she couldn't—or wouldn't—trust his sincere compliments.

While Howl brooded, Sophie fumed. Deciding that she should change the subject she wondered aloud, exasperated, "Why have we still not been seated for dinner?"

Mrs. Smith explained. "While it is such a nice pleasure to see Howl here this evening, he wasn't the guest we were waiting for."

Before Sophie could ask whom they were waiting for, George entered the room announcing: "Mr. and Mrs. James Johnson." A rather tall woman about Howl's age, or possibly older, with dark chestnut hair piled into a sophisticated chignon at the back of her head, came rushing into the room and threw herself into Mr. Smith's arms crying "Daddy!" The man following her was just as tall, but rather corpulent, with thinning dark hair, and a very red face from seeming exertion. Howl stiffened at the sight of them.

After politely greeting Mrs. Smith, Mrs. Johnson turned to greet Sophie, but stopped abruptly when she noticed Howl. Realizing her faux pas almost immediately, she walked forward quickly. "Hello, you must be Sophie. I am Maria Johnson, your new stepsister. Fanny has told me so many things about you. I am quite sure that we will be great friends!"

Noticing her reaction to seeing Howl, Sophie asked, "Do you know Howl?"

Turning her head to look at him, as if only just realizing he was there, she nodded. "We have had some paltry acquaintance in the past."

Howl nearly choked. "Are you all right, Howl?" Sophie asked, concerned.

"I'm fine!"

"Maybe you should have a glass of water." But before Sophie could ring the bell to ask for one, Quincy came in again announcing, "Dinner is served."

Howl immediately stood up and offered his arm to Mrs. Johnson, much to Sophie's chagrin. Mr. Johnson didn't seem to mind, though, only offered his arm to her and introduced himself through bouts of wheezing. Mr. and Mrs. Smith followed them as they walked into the dining room. Sophie watched closely as Howl pulled out a chair for Mrs. Johnson, and allowed Mr. Johnson to pull out hers. She relaxed somewhat when she realized that it seemed to be the custom that dinner partners dine across from each other rather than next to one another. She still didn't like the way Howl seemed to be in intimate conversation with Mrs. Johnson. What she didn't notice the way his gaze would rest thoughtfully on her when she wasn't looking.

"I can't tell you how delighted I was to be invited to dinner with the Smith!" Mr. Johnson told Sophie, interrupting her thoughts. "They have the most delightful cook! He's from Inhico, you know. I can never get enough of his spicy prawns. But his monkfish is his specialty. He cooks it in the most delicious almond sauce and makes them chant in the most delightfully soothing way. It's very good for the digestion. I really do hope he makes it tonight. You don't know what you're missing until you've tasted his monkfish! And dessert! He introduced me to this deliciously sinful treat called chocolate! I could eat it all day…" Mr. Johnson continued to drone on as Sophie strained to overhear what Howl and Mrs. Johnson were saying to one another.

Mrs. Johnson noticed her leaning forward. "I'm sorry, Sophie, how entirely rude of us to exclude you from our conversation. What could Howl _possibly_ be thinking?"

Sophie sat back up awkwardly. "Oh, no, don't worry about me, I was quite engaged in conversation with your husband."

"Yes, I was just telling Miss Hatter all about Montabon, the Smith's most delightful cook! And look! Dinner is served."

As the servants set about placing several dishes on the table for the dinner guests to help themselves to, Mrs. Johnson admonished her husband, "Not everyone gets as enthralled with the qualities food as you do, my love." Howl, who had just taken a bite out of the slice of bread that had just been set down next to him, snorted with laughter, and ended up choking.

"Are you all right, son?" Mr. Smith who was sitting next to him at the head of the table asked, setting down the paper he was reading. "You should drink some water."

Howl took the proffered glass and drank appreciatively. Then everyone set about piling pies, meats, breads, tarts, jellies and casseroles onto their plates and digging in contentedly. Mr. Johnson was the most vocal in his satisfaction, letting out happy "mmms," and smacking his lips on the succulent meats.

After a relative silence as the dining party began their first course, Mr. Smith decided to begin a conversation on a subject that he had much interest in. Addressing Howl, he began, "I've been meaning to ask you, since you're in with the King and all, but do you think there's going to be a war?"

"I sincerely hope not," Howl replied. "I've been trying to convince the King to use every diplomatic means at his disposal before the situation leads to that. It can only mean bad things for the country."

"But what about all those raids on the borders? We can't just let those Strangians come into our country and pillage and plunder our villages. We've got to stop them," Mrs. Johnson interjected. Mr. Johnson who was already red in the face, managed to turn even doctor at the impropriety of a woman—his wife—speaking on the subject of war. Sophie was surprised, but rather pleased that she would dare. Fanny spoke up with slight indignation.

"Mr. Smith, dear, perhaps you should save the war talk for when we ladies remove to the drawing room?"

But Howl ignored her, rising to the challenge, and Mr. Smith didn't seem to mind his daughter's impertinence. "We have had troops stationed there for centuries," Howl began, "imposing our customs and not to mention taxes on them as well. Surely you understand the kind of resentment that kind of treatment will arouse in any proud nation? Until we change our foreign policy I expect the Strangians will continue to raid our country."

"But they wouldn't be anything without us!" Mr. Johnson asserted forcefully. "Without our technology they would still be a country full of poor farmers and shepherds! I can't believe you're defending them!"

"I'm…not," Howl replied slowly, as if he were thinking about his words carefully. "I'm just trying to say that the conflict isn't as clear cut as you think."

"And if it comes to war?" Mr. Smith asked, curious.

"Then I will do my duty as a citizen and wizard to the King. But with great reluctance, will I perpetuate violence when peace is what we should be striving for."

"We are striving for peace! But those hard-headed _Strangers_," Mr. Johnson spat out, "don't know the meaning of the word. Sometimes violence is the only solution."

"On that we disagree. And since it seems that I've upset you with my views, I shall take my leave."

"But Howl…" Sophie exclaimed.

Ignoring her, he bowed politely to Mrs. Johnson, and Mrs. Smith telling her that dinner had been delicious and that he was sorry to leave. Then he swept out of the room like a leaf in the wind. Sophie noisily pushed back her chair and hurried after him.

Catching up to him in the foyer, she grabbed his arm as he was putting on his jacket. "Howl, what's wrong? Why are you leaving so early? Dinner had only just begun."

"I just remembered something I have to do. It's really urgent. Make my excuses for me, will you, love?" he asked her, pulling on his jacket distractedly.

"It's about Mrs. Johnson, isn't it?"

Howl looked up from his sleeves, as he had been straightening them, with a surprised look on his face. "What makes you say that?"

"You have been acting strangely since you recognized who she was. Who is she?"

"She's no one important. Now don't worry your pretty little head. I'm fine." With that he kissed her forehead and walked out of the front door, leaving Sophie with the knowledge that she had been lied to. She didn't know what made her madder, the lie or the patronizing tone he had said it in.

* * *

A/N: Sorry about the long delay between updates. I've actually had most of this written for several weeks, but just didn't get around to finishing it. Anyway, I feel that I should explain some things about this chapter.

First, if you didn't notice, in the previous chapter Sophie said the clothes in the wardrobe were pretty, but in this chapter Fanny says they are not. That's because at first they were pretty and then I decided that I needed a way to show the differences between Fanny and Sophie so her clothes got changed from pretty to dowdy, but made of the finest materials. If you will excuse this inconsistency, you can just think of it as showing how Fanny and Sophie have different perceptions on beauty, and the reason neither Howl or Prince Justin mentioned her clothing yesterday was because they were being polite, and what is most important to them is Sophie herself and not what she is wearing, although Howl does appreciate when she dresses up, which he points out in this chapter.

Also, if you're confused about the setting, that's because it's a conglomerate of different real world English time periods. The idea of dinner being held in late afternoon, early evening, with the women congregating afterwards for tea while the men stayed and talked "business" is a nineteenth century concept, but I'm not sure that politics would not be spoken of entirely in front of women, and of course I had the head of the household bring it up, and tacitly approve of his daughter's taking part in it. The whole men can't sit next to their wives custom, I stole from the most recent version of _Pride and Prejudice_, I thought it was a strange custom, I have no idea what exactly the custom is, and so I basically appropriated it so that Howl could sit across from Sophie where he would best be able to look at her. Jane Austen is actually a huge influence on this story. Bonus points to anyone who can figure out where I alluded to a line in one of her novels in this chapter. I also have no real style of dress in mind, other then that women wear long skirts, and corsets, and carry purses, which is also nineteenth century (I think). When Howl and Sophie travel to Wales, it will be set about 1986 when the novel was published.

As for politics, I have no real world situation in mind, although I kind of see Ingary as like England, and Strangia as like Scotland maybe, or Germany; Inhico is like Spain, Rasphut is like Saudi Arabia, Tsapfan is like China, etc. Howl's standpoint on the issue is a mix on the novel's sequel in which he feels duty bound to do as the King wishes, but also has idealistic morals like in the Miyazaki version. I usually leave out any talk of politics in my stories, and instead focus on sappy relationship stuff, but I feel that it was such an integral part of the movie that I can't leave it out. It's also a handy plot point for the things I have in mind for the story coming up. I'm really the most uninformed person in the world, though, so I'm sure it shows. Also, I created _Strangers_ as a pejorative term, to show the deep-seeded hatred between Ingarians and Strangians.

Wow! I think my notes are longer than the actual chapter. I'm not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing…


	4. In which Howl proposes with a ring

**Chapter 3: In which Howl proposes with a ring**

The way she figured things, Sophie had two choices, she could stay mad at Howl for lying to her, or she could do something about it. She had given up on letting fate decide for her simply because she was the eldest of three daughters, especially since she discovered she did have the power to change things. And the best way to figure out just what Howl was lying about was to go and confront him. Knowing how much he hated even the idea of confrontation, she thought she might be able to get him to tell her the truth. If he really loved her the way he claimed, then he would tell her. But did he really love her? She needed to know because, fortunately or unfortunately, she was already hopelessly in love with him.

So the next morning she set out for the moving castle. She planned to walk over to the mansion with the black and gold door because she knew Fanny would try to talk her out of visiting Howl since it would be improper for her to go without a chaperone since she was no longer an old lady. Even though it wasn't a very great distance between the two houses since they were in the same neighborhood, she wore another one of Mrs. Smith's old dresses since Madam Gerard had not sent her any more of the new ones yet and it would be impractical for her to wear something nice just to get dirty and sweaty.

She had had to sneak away from Fiona who always seemed to have a watchful eye on her, but had no trouble going undetected by Fanny who had taken to sleeping in past noon. After ransacking the kitchen for a little bread and butter for breakfast, she set off for the mansion and was well on her way by the middle of the morning. It reminded her of the time she had left the hat shop in search of her fortune and to hide her cursed state from her family. This time was different though. Even though she had been a spry old hale woman, the journey had tired her out. This morning it rejuvenated her.

As she got closer she noticed that there wasn't any smoke coming from the chimney. She wondered if Calcifer was even in, since he was no longer bound to the hearth. And if he was not there, then would Howl be? She hoped someone was there, or she might not be able to get in. It was really inconvenient the way she could not get inside unless the doorknob was already in the right position, or someone was on the other side to let her in. Luckily it was orange-blob side down and she let herself inside.

She was disgusted by how quickly the castle had become dirty again without her there to constantly clean it. In just a few days the work table had become cluttered with half-finished spells, bottles of magical potions, and all the leftover dirty dishes that would not fit in the sink. Those dishes were covered with dried bits of food and mold, and covering everything was a sheen of dust and ash that spilled into the room from Calcifer's overflowing grate.

"Good heavens!" Sophie exclaimed. "Can these men do nothing without me?"

Hearing her exclamation, Michael came barging into the room from upstairs. "Sophie!" he exclaimed with a bright smile very obviously very pleased to see her. Then he had the decency to look embarrassed as he glanced about the filthy room. "What are you doing here?"

"I came to visit you, my good boy!" she responded. But it didn't seem right to call him a boy anymore. Even though he was still younger than her, though not by quite as much anymore, he was still a head taller than her, and had the potential to grow even more. When she threw her arms around him to hug him, she was quite disconcerted to discover that she only came to just past his shoulders. _Why am I just noticing his height now? _Sophie thought. _I guess being young again changes the way I think, just the way being old did._ "I think you've grown since I last saw you."

"That's not so odd, I think I am going through a growth sp—urt." His voice cracked with the last word and his cheeks pinked with embarrassment. Obviously his height wasn't the only thing that was changing.

Sophie laughed, and wondered not for the first time, what it would have been like to have grown up with brothers instead of sisters. "Where's Calcifer?" she asked.

"Out. He's never in for long. I think he's just trying to discover everything he can about the outside world since he was cooped up in here for so long. But he always comes back. Usually in time for dinner too."

"And Howl? Where is he?"

"He had a meeting with the King. I think he's about _thisclose,_" Michael said squeezing his thumb and forefinger together, "to being promoted to first Royal Wizard over Wizard Suliman. I'm quite proud of him, but for some reason Howl isn't very enthusiastic about the prospect. With the rumors of a war about to begin, this would be the perfect opportunity for him to make a name for himself."

"Well, you know how Howl is. He's the last person to seek glory for himself, and he hates to be pinned down to anything. Can you imagine Howl being _responsible_ for a whole army?"

"No, I can't."

"Neither can I. So, when do you think he'll be back?"

"Some time this evening, I suppose. He also said he had a very important errand to run."

"Oh? That sounds interesting. Well! That gives me the perfect opportunity to straighten up around here. I can't believe how completely this place has gone to the bad without me here."

"No—Sophie! I couldn't let you do that. You're not our housekeeper anymore. You're more like…family." Sophie felt something warm and pleasant spread through her heart at the word "family." She smiled at him.

"Well, family helps clean up. If you really don't want me to clean, how about you help me? Start with those dishes. There must be a spell for getting off all that stuck on food."

"I think I know of one. Howl was very careful to teach me spells for domestic purposes."

"Of course, he did. That's just like Howl not to practice what he teaches. But what's the point of knowing a spell if you never use it? You'll need to use all those spells if you plan on marrying Martha. You do still plan to marry her when you finish your apprenticeship with Howl, don't you?"

"Oh, yes! In fact I was getting ready to go visit her now before I realized that you were here."

"Then don't let me stop you. You go and see her and when you get back, this place will look like new again."

Sophie could tell that Michael's sense of obligation to help her was warring with his eagerness to visit Martha. When she smiled encouragingly at him, though, his desire to see Martha won over. "Thank you, Sophie! I really miss having you here. And I didn't really appreciate how much you did for me—us until you were gone."

"You're quite welcome, Michael."

When he was gone, Sophie let out a sigh of relief. Even though she had wanted to see him, this would also give her the perfect opportunity to snoop. If Howl wasn't there to give her answers, maybe she could find them somewhere else.

Her first objective was to search his bedroom. She had only been in it twice before, when Howl had been too sick to argue with her and after he had taken off to Wales after the Witch's decoy. Going in there felt forbidden, and she paused at the threshold. Those were his private things, and he most definitely didn't want her in there for a reason. But if they were planning on spending their life together—and hadn't that been his intention when he'd told her that they ought to live happily ever after together—wouldn't that mean sharing his bedroom as well? She had a niggling feeling that she should be invited first, though. But she pushed it aside and pushed her way into his room as well.

It was just as dirty as ever. Cobwebs in every corner, all of them filled with those spiders he so adored. There were the clutter of toys and other junk as well, so much that his bed was buried beneath them. She stood there for a few long moments and then turned around and shut the door, either too overwhelmed by the amount of cleaning she would have to do to make his bedroom presentable, or out of respect for Howl's privacy. Then she went downstairs and started on the dishes just as she had asked Michael to do earlier. After encouraging the food to come off with a few words, she found the work to go easily. Dishes first, then the fireplace and the chimney, remembering how ash got all over everything if she did it last, then the table and floors and dusting. By the time Calcifer returned she was covered in dirt, but the main room was sparkling. She hadn't had time to even go near the bathroom.

"What are you doing here?" Calcifer asked from the place he'd resumed in the grate. "You no longer have to pretend to be Howl's housekeeper, you know. My contract with him has been broken…your spell has been broken…there's no need for your continued servitude. How can you stand to be stuck in here when there's an entire world out there just waiting to be discovered!" Calcifer's excitement at being able to come and go as he pleased, was still strong, and the sentiment was palpable.

"I was just making myself useful while I waited for you and Howl to get back. You really ought to be ashamed to let the house get so bad. You should have sent for me, or hired someone else. It's quite disgraceful!"

"What do I care about disgrace? I'm a fire demon!" Calcifer grinned.

"Absolutely nothing, I guess." And Sophie grinned back. Then she sat down in the chair next to the fireplace as Calcifer told her about all the places he'd been since she moved out. For the most part he stayed in Ingary because there was so much to see and do there, but once out of curiosity he'd traveled far to the east to the land of Tsapfan where he saw the beginnings of a great wall being built. It was so tall and wide that it could still be seen high up in the atmosphere. He had been afraid to go up too high into the sky for fear that the other stars would be angry with him and try to capture him for making a deal with a human and gaining a thousand more years in the process. So even though he was free from the grate, there was still another realm that he could not penetrate.

When she noticed that the sun was beginning to set in earnest, she worried that she would have to go before Howl got back. She knew that Fanny would be very upset with her when she returned, but return she knew she must.

She worried for naught. A few minutes later Howl came in from the orange blob side down door, looking very dejected. "Calcifer," he began, not even looking up from his feet, "The worse thing possible has happened!" Then he looked up, and was shocked to find Sophie sitting there. "You! You're here! I stopped by your stepmother's house on the way back from Kingsbury, but your servant told me you had disappeared. At first I thought she only meant that you had left the house, and then I wondered if she meant magically. I can't tell you how worried I've been about you." He pulled her into a tight hug. "You shouldn't scare me like that again!"

"I'm sorry. I had to sneak out or else I knew Fanny wouldn't let me come here."

"Have you been here all day?" He suddenly pushed her away from him and frowned. "Yes, you have. You just had to make yourself busy by cleaning my house. You're covered in dirt…and now I've gotten it all over me!"

"If you would just take the time to pick up after yourself, I wouldn't have to do it for you! But I should have suspected you'd be more worried about your silly suit than bother to show some gratitude. Of all the ungrateful—"

"Hush, now, Sophie. I'm very sorry for not immediately bowing at your feet, oh, Queen of Cleanliness. I do appreciate what you've done, I've just had other things on my mind."

"Other things? Like what? It seems like it was pretty bad based on your expression when you first came in here."

"I'll tell you in a moment. Would you come outside with me, Sophie?"

Nodding, she took his proffered arm, and followed him down the stairs. He turned the doorknob purple-side down, and as they stepped through the threshold she could feel her dirty dress being turned into a beautiful gown crimson and cream silk, and her hair pulled up into a fancy chignon with flowers entwined in it. She looked at Howl and noticed that his very dapper suit had changed as well into something even fancier that happened to match her dress. The flowers too were enchanted. Red flowers bloomed with her every step making her feel like a princess walking down a red carpet for some kind of ball.

When they were some distance from the castle, Howl turned to her and asked, "Do you like it, Sophie?"

"It's beautiful, Howl. You know I've always loved the flowers in this place, and even now they look even lovelier than they did before."

"And the gown?"

"You have impeccable taste, Howl."

"I'm glad. There's something else I want to ask you, and if you say yes, then there's something I want to give you as well."

Sophie's breath caught in her throat. _He's not about to do what I _think_ he's about to do, is he?_ she thought. Then when he got down on one knee, she knew what he was about to do.

"You know I love you, Sophie. More than anything else in my entire life. And I knew I wanted to marry you from the moment the spell was broken." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a red box and opened it to reveal the most magnificent ring Sophie had ever seen—a rather large, round, brilliant center diamond with two fancy pear shaped side stones in a platinum setting. Sophie was so captivated with the sparkling ring that she didn't quite hear the rest of what Howl said. "Now I just need you to confirm that you love me too, by agreeing to become my wife."

"Wh—what?"

"Sophie, dear, you're killing me here. All you have to do is tell me you'll become my wife."

"Oh my goodness! Yes, I'll be your wife!" she cried out, seizing the ring and putting it on her finger, then splaying her hand out in front of her to admire the way it looked on her finger. "Oh, Howl, this is the most beautiful ring I've ever seen. I only imagined that princesses would get to have a ring like this."

Standing up, Howl felt a little disconcerted. "I only wanted the best for you, but now I'm beginning to wonder whether you love the ring more than you love me."

"Of course I do!" And it was only until he looked up into her face and saw the laughter making her lips twitch and the complete adoration in her eyes that he realized that she had been joking.

"Why you little—!" Howl cried out pulling her to him and laughing into her hair. He pulled away from her, only to lift her chin up and slowly lower his face down to her waiting lips, but before he could kiss her, she pulled away.

"Before we get married, though, there's something I need to know."

"What's that, _cariad?_"

"Who is Mrs. Johnson to you and why did you lie about her?"

Howl sighed deeply and closed his eyes. "I knew you were going to ask me that."

"So why don't you answer me? Whatever it is, it can't be that bad, can it?"

"It's not. It's just a reminder of something I'd rather forget about. Mrs. Johnson…

she was one of my conquests. And I know without a doubt that I am the reason she married that imbecile Johnson."

"How do you know?"

"She told me. She said that even though I had broken her heart, I wouldn't be able to steal her chances at having money and a good place in society. So she married Johnson because he could give her those things, even if he can't give her much else."

"And so you feel responsible for her, maybe even sorry for her?"

"No...maybe. Maybe a little guilty."

"Then why didn't you tell me before?"

"Because I didn't want to remind you of what a rake I'd been."

"Don't you know that I loved you even when I thought you were a good-for-nothing scoundrel. But you're not, not really. I know that you only pursued all those women because you didn't have a heart. And you have no reason to hide your past from me. Nothing you could have done or said could make me stop loving you."

"Thank you, Sophie. That really means a lot to me." He sighed with relief. "And since I'm coming clean, I should also probably tell you why I decided to ask you to marry me today."

Sophie gulped at the ominous tone in his voice.

"The King has appointed me as his first Royal Wizard and has commanded that I go to Strangia immediately."

Sophie gasped. "Strangia? Why? And for how long?"

"The King has for once taken my advice about using diplomatic means to stave off this war, but he decided that since it was my advice, I should be the one to carry it out. I have been given the authority to pound out some sort of agreement between our two countries, and if I don't then we will go to war."

"Do you think you'll be able to do it?"

"I do not know. And the prospect of it makes me feel quite queasy. The fate of our country rests on my shoulders. However did I manage to get myself into such a position?" he asked despondently.

"I'll go with you."

"No. It's too dangerous."

"Then when do you leave?"

"In a fortnight."

"That gives us plenty of time to get married then."

"Oh, no," said Howl, shaking his head vehemently. "I promised your stepmother that I'd give you a proper courtship and engagement. If I elope with you now, she'll kill me. Besides I want a big grand wedding with all the trimmings. It must be an extravagant affair with everyone at court in attendance. They give the best gifts you know—"

"Howl, you're not being serious—"

"Yes, I am. I already feel much better now that you've agreed to marry me. As long as that ring is on your finger everyone will know that you are taken."

"You're worried about _me_ being swept off my feet by some suitor? What about you? Am I supposed to trust that some courtier in Strangia isn't going to take one look at you and covet you for herself? _You_ haven't got a ring!"

"I can change that." He lifted his hand to his ear where there was a hoop-earring with a dangling ruby pendant. "This was my grandmother's. By rights it should have gone to my sister, but when my mother died, Megan thought I should have it. I guess it was because the matching earring had long been missing and she had no use for it." He took the earring off easily and then slowly began to roll it onto his left hand ring finger. It stretched like a rubber band until he could fit it over his knuckle. Instead of dangling the ruby became embedded in the gold setting of the ring. "In my heart we are already wed, and I will wear this ring as a symbol of my fidelity. Do you trust me now?"

Sophie simply nodded with tears in her eyes. Then she leaned forward closing her eyes and waiting breathlessly for a first kiss.

Her eyes popped open suddenly when she heard Fanny's voice screeching at her from the direction of the castle. Howl let out a loud suspiration at her side. She could have sworn that she heard him mutter "botheration" underneath his breath. It was then that she noticed that their clothes had been changed back to normal. Only the flowers retained their glorifying beauty.

"_Sophie_! How could you run out of the house like that? You scared me to death. I thought for sure you had been turned into an old maid again. You're still wearing those hideous gowns. And what are you doing here alone with Howl?"

Turning to greet her mother, she said, "Howl has just asked me to marry him, and I said yes."

"What? Now?"

"No, when he gets back from Strangia. He has just been appointed Royal Wizard and will be dispatched there for diplomatic purposes."

"Oh, that's too bad. This whole Strangia business is a bad situation all around." Then her eyes went round when she saw the diamond on Sophie finger. "Is that the ring? Oh, it's gorgeous! It must have cost a fortune. Look at the way it sparkles, that's a special cut, and the diamond is of the highest quality too. Howl, you have flawless taste in jewelry."

"Thank you, ma'am. I aim to please."

With that, Fanny took Sophie's arm into hers and led her towards the castle.

* * *

A/N: So this chapter was such total sap that I thought I'd just give it all away with the title. I hope no one got a toothache.

I'm sure you all already guessed who Mrs. Johnson was to Howl. Don't think you've seen the last of her yet.

Anyway, the line "My dear Sophie, I haven't seen any woman who was as afraid of a compliment as other women are afraid of being deserted," from my last chapter is loosely based on a line from _Mansfield Park _by Jane Austen. I tried to find it so I could cite it, but I couldn't for the life of me find it. So I think you all should read it and find it for me! I think you'll find a little bit of Howl in Henry Crawford and maybe a little bit of Sophie in Fanny Price.

Thanks for the reviews! They make me feel all mushy inside :)


	5. In which Howl and Sophie get into an

A/N: I had to change the whole time-stopping thing in this chapter. It had been bugging me since before I posted it. Thanks to Mad-4-Manga for the decoy idea.

* * *

**Chapter 4: In which Howl and Sophie get into an argument**

In the next three days, Sophie did not see Howl once. Not even a single glance. When she told Fanny that she was going to Cesari's to visit Martha, she also managed to duck in to the flower shop to see Howl, but he wasn't there. The next day when she begged Theobald to take her to Kingsbury to visit Lettie, who had moved in with one of Mrs. Fairfax's friends so that she could apprentice with the Wizard Suliman, she hoped that Ben Suliman might be able to tell her something about Howl's business with the king. Ben, unfortunately, was extremely tightlipped when it came to Howl. Lettie herself didn't seem too enthusiastic about the engagement. Both excursions left her feeling disappointed and a little guilty about using her sisters to catch a glimpse of Howl, or find out about him.

On the third day she stayed home, but found herself jumping at every sound of a horse and carriage that came trundling by the Smiths' house in the hopes that it was Howl come to see her.

Sophie was a great reader and so, in order to try to distract herself from thoughts of Howl, had begun reading some book that he had recommended to her about some abbey because he said that both she and the main character let what they read in books affect their natural reason and logic, and he hoped she might learn something from it. She had never heard of this author before, which she found somewhat unusual since she had been very familiar with most books of any merit. She wondered if perhaps it had come from Wales. From the very first page she was intrigued, and found herself identifying with the heroine, whom the author identified as unlikely, as well as laughing at some of her antics, but her thoughts inevitably drifted back to Howl every few lines. Where was Howl and why hadn't he come to see her? If he only had two weeks left with her before he had to leave, wouldn't he want to spend every moment he could with her? Quincy interrupted those thoughts by announcing that Mrs. Johnson was there to see her.

She put her book down immediately, wondering what Howl's former lover wanted to see her for. Then she remembered that Mrs. Johnson was her stepmother's stepdaughter, and she was living in her former home. Her reason for being there probably had nothing to do with Howl. She really ought not to feel so jealous of Mrs. Johnson, but she couldn't help herself.

Mrs. Johnson entered the little sitting room as if she were a queen making her appearance at a royal ball. "Dear Sophie, thank you for seeing me, although it is a little strange to be announced in what was once your own home," she began regally.

"You are always welcome here, Mrs. Johnson."

"Please, call me Maria. Surely, you think of me as a sister the way I do you?"

Sophie didn't think of Maria of a sister so much as a rival, but she didn't want to give off the wrong impression. "Of course, I do. And you may continue calling me Sophie, just the way you have been." Perhaps she wouldn't be able to play as nice as she had thought. She plastered on a smile.

Maria's smile changed in its brilliance to a cooler, less familiar expression. "I'm so glad that we can consider each other family so soon."

They continued to chat inanely for at least half an hour, talking about the weather, the latest fashions, and anything else to keep them from having a real conversation. Finally, Sophie got bored and said, "I have wonderful news to tell you. Howl and I are going to be married!"

Sophie had to hand it to her stepsister-by-marriage, she didn't flinch at the news, in fact she showed no reaction, which tipped Sophie off that she felt very strongly about her announcement, and suspected it was jealousy. And knowing Mr. Johnson, who could blame her?

"Congratulations!" Maria exclaimed, not skipping a beat. "I'm sure you both will be quite happy. I must say that this doesn't come as a surprise since there has been gossip about you both ever since Prince Justin was returned safe and sound thanks to you and Howl. I am surprised, though, that Howl made no mention of your engagement when I saw him yesterday."

"Yesterday?" Sophie croaked. "You saw him yesterday?"

Smelling blood in the air, Mrs. Johnson went in for the kill. "Yes. I needed to buy some flowers and his is the best flower shop in the area so I went there and we had the most delightful conversation about the last bouquet of flowers he bought for me."

"I thought you said you merely had a paltry acquaintance with him."

"Did I?" She smiled serenely and got a far away look in her eyes. "I'm sure in his eyes it was. You know Howl, he never could commit. As soon as he has made you love him, he's ready to bail, ready to find some other girl to make love to. But I'm sure he really loves you this time. He must to have asked you to marry him, don't you think? Except he did ask the Witch of the Waste to marry him once, and we both know how that turned out."

"Why are you telling me this?"

Maria looked her straight in the eyes. "I thought I ought to warn you, _sister_. Howl might seem like a good man at first. He makes a great suitor, all warm feelings, and ardent words, passionate embraces, everything coldly calculated to make you love him. But once he has you, he doesn't need you anymore. Howl is a heartless creature. All he cares about is the chase."

"That's not true!"

"Well, I hope not. But I hoped that he wouldn't leave me for that tramp maid of mine, but he did."

"Thanks for the warning, Maria. But it isn't necessary. I know the kind of man Howl is. And he may have been heartless before, but he isn't anymore." Sophie stood up. "Now I'd hate to kick you out of your own home, so instead I'm going to go out and take a walk in the garden." With that, she left the room and ran outside to the garden.

The fragrant flowers did little to keep Maria's bitter, angry words from repeating over and over in her mind. The myriad blues, reds, oranges and yellows didn't distract her eye from seeing Maria's face, her expression full of contempt, for her, or Howl, she couldn't tell which. Despite herself she began to wonder how much truth there was to her words. How was it that Howl had time to spend in the shop, but he couldn't come to see her. Had he already become bored with her, now that she had agreed to marry him?

She sat down on one of the benches strewn throughout the garden and looked at her ring. A ring fit for a princess. Was she only deluding herself to think that Howl could make a good Prince Charming? She had seen herself how quickly he had gotten over Lettie, who he had claimed that he would love forever. That wasn't exaggerated rumor. So what could make her think that _she_ was the one to finally conquer him? She wasn't anything special. As the oldest daughter, she had been destined to be the least beautiful. And she never thought anything through. How could she have ever been silly enough to think that she had enough going for her to keep Howl interested?

"Sophie? There you are. Fiona said that you were out here."

"Hello, Howl," Sophie replied, turning to look at him. He looked resplendent in his suit of brown and green. His hair was a deep gold that contrasted with the paleness of his skin and brought out his bright blue-green eyes, making them appear less glassy than usual. He was so gorgeous, and it made her feel all the more self-conscious of her red-gold hair and plain features, and the embarrassing sprinkle of freckles that became more prominent the more time she spent in the sunlight.

"You don't seem very happy to see me. Perhaps I've come to the wrong house. I think there's another Sophie out there who would have a very different reaction to seeing her fiancé after three long days," Howl joked.

"Is that what I am to you? A joke? Some sort of game? Did you stay away from me for three days just so that I would miss you, just the way you did with Lettie?"

"What? No! Didn't you get my flowers? And the guitar I sent? I figured even though I am unmusical, there isn't any reason why you shouldn't be serenaded all the same. Would I have done those things if I was trying to play the 'absence makes the heart grow fonder' card?"

"I…I did…the flowers were very beautiful, Howl, and the song too…but I would have preferred seeing you to receiving all of the gold in the King's treasury. Why didn't you come yourself to see me?"

"I couldn't! I have been busy every day making preparations for my diplomatic mission to Strangia. If I could have come I would have."

"But if you were so busy, how did you manage to have enough time to sell flowers?"

"What flowers? I sold no flowers—"

"Don't lie to me! I know you did. My step-stepsister told me that she saw you at the shop yesterday."

"I do live at the shop you know," Howl said looking wronged and injured. "I only came home to get a bath and some sleep after being up since the crack of dawn, and as I was going through the flower shop Mar—Mrs. Johnson saw me and asked me about a bouquet."

"Are you sure? That's all there was to it?"

"Yes, of course I'm sure," said Howl, sounding slightly exasperated. "And anyway, I'm here now. Part of the reason I've been working so hard these past few days is so that I can spend the last of my time with you. There's some place I want to take you." Howl seemed so honest and forthright with his explanation, and Sophie really had no reason not to believe him. Not unless she simply did not trust him. But if she didn't trust him, then why was she engaged to him? She reminded herself that she knew what she had been getting into when she had agreed to marry him, and even before that when she had agreed to become his housekeeper and try to break the spell between himself and Calcifer. She wasn't going to let a little insecurity make her start doubting him now.

"Okay, Howl. Where do you want to take me?"

"Wales!" he exclaimed. "I want you to meet my sister and her family as you are now. I want to tell her that her younger brother is finally settling down! She'll have kittens! It'll be wonderful."

Sophie felt delighted and terrified at the prospect of meeting Howl's family. From what she remembered of Megan Parry, she was a fierce woman with very strong opinions, much like herself, and her disappointment in Howl seemed to stem from how much she cared about him. At the same time, she could also be almost as intimidating as Mrs. Pentstemmons. And what about the children? What if they didn't like her? Especially little Mari. Howl was wild about her, and if she disliked her, then Sophie probably didn't have a chance with Howl.

"What's wrong now?" Howl asked, when Sophie didn't get up from her seat.

"It's nothing." But then she shook her head. "It's just…you want me to meet your family."

"And why should that surprise you? I've met your family."

"Yes, and they're all wary of you. They don't think you'll do right by me, which is why my mother demanded that you court me properly."

"Well, they have good reason—err…I mean…I have in the past…not had an exactly stellar track record, but I do intend to prove them wrong. My family has no reason to dislike you. They'll fall in love with you on sight. Just like I did."

"But …it's your family. Won't they be upset with you for getting engaged to some woman they've never met before?"

"Probably." Howl smirked. "But they expect that sort of thing out of me. I'm always turning up surprises on them. And if they're upset, it will be with me, not you. Sophie, my beloved, why are you behaving so insecurely? They are going to love you!"

Instead of answering his question, she decided to ask one of her own. "What is Wales, exactly?" She rather suspected that Howl would try to slither out of answering her question, the way most teachers did when a female asked questions that they thought were beyond a woman's realm of intelligence, especially if they were male themselves, but Howl was not like that. He sat down beside her, giving her his full attention.

"Well, what do you know about your own world?"

"I think that it's a round ball…I know that for a long time a lot of people believed that it was flat, and it certainly seems that way except for all the mountains and hills that make it bumpy, but I've never once heard of anyone actually falling off of it. And it just sort of hangs in space as it circles the sun the way the moon circles it."

"That's right. And what if I told you that the sun was just one of billions of other suns, which make up the stars you see at night?"

"Does that mean that since there are other suns out their like this one, there are other worlds, like this one?"

"That's exactly it!"

"And you come from one of those other worlds?"

"Yes, I do."

"But how did you travel so far?"

"Even that I'm not so sure of," Howl began, shaking his head. "I've theorized that I stumbled upon some portal, or wormhole, or time-space compressor that allows me to travel a great distance in a very short amount of time. But so far I've only been able to find a couple of hundred of these portals, although I'm sure there must be more. And I only have a very limited understanding of how they work."

"And do you explore them all?"

"Well, no. Actually this is the only one that I can get through. The others I just know are there, but can only see through. I think I'm not quite powerful enough to just go through any portal. Ingary…well, the world that Ingary is a part of…it's got much more concentrated magic than any other place that I can tell. And I think that's what drew me here."

"That's interesting." But Howl's mentioning the stars mad her curious about something else. "I just have one more question."

"All right."

"Is our sun a fire demon, too? Will it fall to its death, too?"

"Well, yes…it will. And when it does it will destroy all the life on this planet. But that won't happen for another few billion years or so. This solar system is still young yet."

"Oh," said Sophie, suddenly feeling really depressed.

"That's part of the reason why I felt so sorry for Calcifer and tried to deny the balance of Nature. But it came at a price. But you, dear Sophie, managed to right that. It shows how powerful your magic is. You're almost like Nature herself."

"I'm not that powerful," she responded, modestly. "You are much more powerful than me. You—"

"I've had more experience with magic than you have. I'm sure with the right training you could become a powerful sorceress, maybe even more powerful than me."

"You think so?"

"I do, and that's why I'd like to train you myself. And I would even start immediately, except that I must leave." Fearing that he was speaking presumptuously, he quickly added, "But that is only if you want my help, that is."

"Of course, I do! You are the best wizard in the land. Very deserving of being named First Royal Wizard. I wouldn't want anyone else to train me."

Howl smiled delightedly. "Good, that's settled then." They both simply sat there in the middle of the garden smiling at each other. Then Howl seemed to remember that they were there for another purpose. Howl offered his arm to Sophie, and they walked back towards the house. As they were walking, Sophie noticed that everything had gotten really still. Eerily so. She didn't hear any birds singing, or feel even a breath of wind. It was as if time stood still. Then she noticed Fiona peeking at them from behind a bunch of manicured bushes, completely frozen like a statue. She turned a beseeching eye on Howl. "What have you done?"

"Oh, just stopped time. It's the easiest way to sneak you out of here without making anyone suspicious of where you went."

"But why would you do that, when we could have just as easily walked out in real time."

"Do you think your stepmother would have let you leave without demanding to know where we were going or insisting on a chaperone?"

"Good point."

"That's what I thought. Now help me pick out something I can use as decoys for us."

"What do you need decoys for?"

"Do you know the principle of how time flies when you are occupied and its opposite, that when you have nothing to do, time creeps by slowly?" Sophie nodded. "Well, I've manipulated those principles to pause time for a bit, but it only works for a little while, and when time starts again everyone will be curious about where we went off too—especially your Fiona over there—unless we have decoys."

"Oh! I get it." Sophie grinned. "How about those butterflies on that flower over there?" Sophie pointed out two Monarch butterflies that were fluttering around each other in a ritualistic kind of dance.

"They're perfect. Male and female and the most beautiful insects in this garden. Let's see how well they hold up as us." With that Howl spoke with very long words that sounded like thunder clapping, and a whirlwind of magic took hold of the two butterflies twisting them about until they disappeared in a cyclone of gray wind. When the wind finally died down, Howl and Sophie found themselves staring at mirror image replicas of themselves, wearing the same clothes, with the same hair, and same eyes, and same skin.

"Howl, that's amazing! You should have done this much earlier. Can you imagine how much faster I would have been able to clean the house if there were two of me!"

"Not much, I'd wager. While these two butterflies might look very much like you and I, they are still only insects. They're not good for much other than looking pretty and watering the garden."

"Really?" Sophie walked towards her doppelganger and smiled welcomingly. The other Sophie simply stared. "Hello," Sophie greeted. The other Sophie turned around and sniffed a bright pink hibiscus flower. The other Howl sniffed the other Sophie. Sophie frowned.

"What are they doing?"

"The appear to be 'courting' just like your stepmother wanted. Now don't worry. We'll be back well before the male attacks the female. And either way that ought to keep Fiona occupied.

"But—"

"Now let's go," Howl said grabbing Sophie's arm and leading her out of the garden before she could protest.

They didn't go through the house, only around to the front driveway where Howl's horse and carriage were waiting to take them back to the mansion across the way, seemingly unaffected by Howl's spell. When they made it into the comfortable little room that the castle mostly consisted of they found it empty. Michael was gone and the hearth was cold and barren. So they simply turned around and went through the door again, this time black blob-side down.

Sophie took Howl's hand as they stepped through the inch-thick nothingness. Sophie saw the familiar yellow brick house with the wavy-glass door, and the wooden sign that said RIVENDELL. A gray fog appeared around them and then disappeared revealing that Howl was wearing the same WELSH RUGBY jacket and strange blue pants that she had seen Michael wearing the last time she had come with him to Wales. When she looked down she realized that her clothes too had changed. And it seemed as if she wasn't wearing anything at all. Her skirt came up to her knees, showing off an indecent amount of calf! And her shift and stays were gone leaving her feeling quite loose.

"What have you done? I look like a common trollop on the Porthaven Docks!"

"Trust me, you look fine. This is the kind of stuff that women wear in my world. Although," he added glancing down at her legs which were covered in a golden downy fuzz, "most women shave their legs…and their oxters. But I like my women hairy. Very Women's Lib. Besides I couldn't deal with a woman who spent more time in the bathroom than I do."

"Why would women want to shave?" Sophie asked, horrified. "Only men do that!"

"It makes them feel pretty…and it makes their skin smooth. Not to mention it diminishes the odor."

"What's wrong with my odor?" Sophie demanded.

"Nothing. I love the way you smell." He leaned in and took a deep whiff for emphasis. "Like soap and rainwater…and those daffodils you like so much. And you are one of the cleanest women I know. You have very good hygiene. But unfortunately, that is a rarity in your world."

"That's true enough," Sophie said, thinking of Mrs. Reed, one of her former customers, who smelled like she had never had a bath in her life. She had sold her a pink and gray hat with a ribbon like a curly-q that reminded her of a pig's tail.

Howl took out his keys and finding the right one, turned to Sophie and asked, "Are you ready?" Sophie took a deep breath and nodded. Howl stuck the key into the keyhole and turned, only to find that it wouldn't budge.

"What?" Howl questioned, confusedly. He took the key out and inspected it, then put it back in, but it still wouldn't turn. Then he tried all the other keys, knowing that none of those would work either. "I suppose Megan changed the lock. I'm not surprised, given that her family was just attacked by a witch. I'll just have to use my master key,' Howl said conjuring another key out of thin air.

"Why not just knock?" Sophie asked.

"Because this is my house. I used to live here. I refuse to be _allowed_ in, like I'm some sort of stranger."

This time the key worked and Howl escorted Sophie in. Mari ran up to them and threw her arms around her uncle. "I was so scared! What happened to you? Who was that lady that made me come to her? And my mom is SO mad at you!"

Megan appeared at the foot of the stairs. "What are _you_ doing here? Mari, I told you not to let him in!"

"But I didn't—"

"Don't lie to me, girl! I had the locks changed," Megan interrupted angrily, making her way down the stairs.

"She didn't lie," Howl said, coming to his niece's defense. "I picked the lock."

Megan turned her fury on Howl. "You good for nothing scoundrel! How dare you come into my house after what you did! It was because of you that the evil woman came to my house and tried to kidnap my children!" It was then that she noticed Sophie standing beside Howl. "You!" Megan cried out, lunging at Sophie. "It was you who came and frightened me nearly out of my wits. I should have you arrested for attempted kidnapping, trespassing—"

"Sophie did no such thing," Howl said, pulling his sister away from her.

"You think I'm a fool don't you! I saw her. She has the same red hair, and the same cold dead eyes. But I see everything clearly now. It was just a prank. Another one of your games for you to have fun at my expense. Well, I won't put up with it anymore. I want you and your dirty whore out of my house!"

Mari had begun to cry. "No! No, Uncle Howell! Don't go! Mommy, don't make him leave!"

"Mari, go to your room."

"But—"

"Go!"

Mari looked at her uncle with wide beseeching eyes, but he only shook his head at her. That only seemed to make Megan even madder. "Don't you look at him; go to your room now!" Mari could do nothing more than do as she was told.

Then Megan turned to look at Howl and Sophie. "What are you two still doing here?"

"Megan, I know you're angry with me, and you have every reason to be, but not in the way you think. Sophie had nothing to do with what happened. In fact, she helped me to prevent it from happening again."

"Oh, I'm sure she _helped_ you all right," Megan replied skeptically.

"Just let me explain."

"I'm listening."

"This is Sophie Hatter. Even though their appearances may seem similar, the similarities are superficial. Sure they both have blue eyes and red hair, but they are completely different people."

"Sophie Hatter? Isn't that the name of the old woman who was with you the last time you came here?"

"Yes, well…" Howl stammered, lost about what he should say.

"She is my great aunt," Sophie added, making up something for Howl. "I was named after her."

"So, Sophie, what are you and your great aunt doing involved with Howell?"

"I…we…cleaned his house. First she did it, but when she had to retire, she asked me to do it for her." Sophie had learned that when it came to lying, it was best to stick to the truth as much as possible. It was harder to slip up that way.

"Is that so? That still doesn't explain how you aren't that horrible witch that tried to take my children."

"Witch?" Howl asked, alarmed. "What makes you think it was a witch?"

"I was being figurative! She could have been the Queen of England, I don't care! I don't want her anywhere near my house. Now get out."

"But Sophie wasn't the woman you saw. You're right…it was a prank. But it wasn't Sophie, and I didn't mean to scare you. If I had realized what a big deal you were going to make of it I would have come much sooner."

"Well, you didn't think because you never do! You only ever think about yourself. Not what I've done for you, all the sacrifices I made for you, only for you to waste it all gadding about."

Seeing that Megan was far from being pacified by Howl's explanation, Sophie pulled on Howl's jacket. "I think we should leave."

Howl nodded dejectedly. "I'm really sorry, Megan. If you never believe anything else I say, you have to believe that." Megan grumbled and crossed her arms, becoming a rigid immovable object.

Sophie went out the wavy-glass door first, then Howl. It had begun to rain, and in the matter of moments that it took for Howl to change the wavy-glass door into the familiar castle door they were both soaked. When they were back in the castle's room, Sophie went into the bathroom to grab a fluffy towel to dry off with. Howl shook himself like a big shaggy dog and was dry. Taking the towel from her, he whispered something strange and mysterious and found that her other clothes were back and she was completely dry, even her hair.

"Come now, Sophie, don't give me the silent treatment. It's not like you."

"I would like you to take me home now."

"That's it? You're not going to tell me how incredibly stupid I was not to make sure that Megan was all right sooner?"

"That was incredibly stupid, Howl. And insensitive. What were you thinking?"

Howl sighed as if he was glad that he was finally getting the opportunity to defend himself. "She and the children were safe. And I needed to get to you because you had fallen into the Witch of the Waste's trap. Then I got distracted by courting you and trying to stop this war. It's just sometimes it's easy to forget about Wales when I'm here. I have so many commitments here."

"And what about when you go to Strangia? How will I know that you won't become distracted by all your commitments over there?"

"Sophie, I thought we had already talked about this when I proposed. What made you suddenly stop trusting me?"

"Maybe because I haven't seen you in three days except for a couple of notes, and when I finally see you, you whisk me away to another world where I'm confronted with just how irresponsible you can be. I don't think your sister is ever going to like me because of this."

"I told you I was busy!"

"I don't want to hear it Howl. The fact is you should have gone to see your sister. And despite how busy you claimed to be, you still had enough time to have an intimate conversation with Maria Johnson!"

"Ah! I get it now. You are jealous!" Howl laughed. "Trust you to get jealous when I don't want you to."

"I am not jealous!"

"Yes, you are, and you have been ever since you realized that Mrs. Johnson and I knew each other. I should have told you about her sooner. And for that I'm sorry."

"You certainly are sorry! You're the sorriest excuse for a man there ever was. And I'm beginning to be sorry I ever agreed to marry you."

"I'm sorry? What about you! You don't even have the decency to admit what you're really angry with me about. Not about my bad judgment with my sister, or even Mrs. Johnson because you know that nothing is going on there. She wouldn't be so spiteful if there was. What you're really mad about is that I'm going to be leaving in a week. But there's nothing I can do about it. Believe me, I would if I could!"

"Oh!" Sophie huffed. "Go turn yourself into a slimy green toad!"

"Hit a nerve did I? You're reverting to your crotchety old ways again." And she was too. Her hair had become sprinkled with salt and pepper and the smooth skin of her face had become slightly wrinkled.

Sophie gasped when she noticed herself in the mirror sitting on top of the mantle over the empty fireplace. "At least you know _I _age well. You'll probably get old and fat. And lose all of your hair!"

Howl raised a hand to his hair reflexively. Then lowered it to caress her face. "Sophie, do you know why you make yourself seem old whenever you're upset? The spell on you is broken, I know it. You are doing this to yourself."

"I guess…I'm just afraid. And being old makes me feel less afraid." Saying her fears out loud seemed to give them less power. When she glanced in the mirror again her hair had returned to its rich red-gold color and her skin was fair and smooth.

"There's no need to be afraid, Sophie. I'll keep telling you that until one day you believe me," Howl said earnestly. "But you were right about one thing. You do age well, and I think you look beautiful no matter how old you are."

Tears were in Sophie's eyes. "Oh, Howl. You were right, too. I am mad that you're leaving. And sad and afraid too. Just when our life together is just about to start." Howl pulled her into his arms and began to rub her back comfortingly.

"Don't worry, love. Everything will work out. You'll see. I'll be back in no time, and then we'll have the wedding of both our dreams and really begin to live happily ever after. Won't that be nice?"

"I can't wait, Howl."

* * *

A/N: If this is your first time reading this chapter, then there's some Jane Austen goodness hinted at. I suggest reading all over her novels (there are only six) if you haven't already and figuring out which one I was talking about :)


	6. In which Sophie visits the Royal Castle

A/N: Please reread chapter 4. I made some changes!

* * *

**Chapter 5: In which Sophie visits the Royal Castle**

In the following week, Howl and Sophie spent as much time together as was humanly possible, and even a little more than that when Howl contrived to slow down time, but even with Howl doing his best, the week was over much, much too soon and Sophie was waving goodbye to Howl as his train pulled out of the station in Market Chipping. He had promised to write to her every day, and she just as often, but she knew their letters might be few and far between, what with the distance and the danger of his trip.

She wrote to him daily, but only sent out a letter on the third day to save on postage. In her first letter she told him about how she would spend days helping Michael in the shop to keep her mind preoccupied so that she wouldn't miss him so much. But she found that impossible to do and so she wrote that she hoped he would return home soon.

Howl wrote back to her that he had been received rather cordially in the Strangian court. He told her about the beautiful and strange architecture of the castle he was staying in and the unusual, but tasty foods that he had tried while he was there. He told her that while he did poison-testing spells as a precaution, so far he had not had any real cause for suspicion among them, which made him hopeful that his peaceful objective could be accomplished, and rather sooner than he expected.

For two weeks letters from Howl came almost every three or four days, and Sophie wondered if perhaps Howl had bewitched them somehow to make such speedy deliveries. The copious letters spoiled her because when suddenly his letters became fewer and fewer she began to worry. He never talked about how much busier he had become. He always told her some funny story about some diplomat he had spoken with, or some social blunder he had made since he didn't know Strangian all that well and was unfamiliar with the culture. She couldn't help but wonder if he had already become bored with her as a correspondent, and just did not feel like writing to her as often as he used to. She tried to convince herself that it was only natural that he stop writing as much, since he was surely very busy. Deciding that she didn't want him to think that she was wasting away waiting for his letters and was quite busy herself, she cut back to only writing him twice a week.

Sophie also debated about whether she should tell him that she planned on visiting Megan. Ever since that horrible first introduction she wanted nothing more than to tell Megan that she was very wrong about both her and her brother and their relationship. But when she had suggested going back herself and having a heart to heart talk with Megan while he was away, Howl had been against it, saying that she was his sister, and he would be the one to smooth things over between them.

Since Calcifer was the only one who even knew Howl had a sister Megan, she decided to ask his advice. She told Fanny that she was going to Market Chipping on the pretence that she wanted to pick up flowers from the shop for the house. Luckily, Calcifer was there sleeping in the grate. Not wanting to wake him up, Sophie decided to wait for him and once again took to straightening the room. She wasn't as quiet as she thought she was being, though, and Calcifer startled her from her task of dusting the shelves with a brusque cough.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Calicfer. I didn't mean to wake you."

"Of course you did. You obviously came here for a reason, or you would have left when you saw I was asleep. What's the problem?"

"Well, I thought I would ask you for some advice," she began somewhat unsurely. When Calcifer's bright blue flamed eyes looked at her noncommittally she took it as her cue to continue. "You know how Howl and I got in that nasty fight with his sister, right?"

"Yes."

"Well, I thought maybe I would go through the black door and speak to Megan on my own. She is going to be my sister-in-law and I'd like for us to get along."

"So what's the problem?"

Sophie looked away guiltily. "Howl asked me not to. But I think I ought to anyway. He's gone, and now is the perfect time for us to have a little heart to heart."

"It's seems like you've already made your decision. So I'm not sure why you're coming to me for advice."

"I just wondered…do you think Howl will get really angry with me if I do?"

"I think that Howl has his reasons for not wanting you to go there by yourself. It's a completely different world you know."

"Right, but I'd just be walking out the door, turning around and going back in."

"Well, maybe it's more than just that."

"So you think he'll be really upset with me if I do?"

"No, I don't think that. But I do think you might end up doing more harm than good."

"Well, I think I owe it to Howl to at least try. She couldn't possibly hate me anymore than she already does. And even though Howl must get on her nerves it's obvious that she cares about him a lot."

"All right then. You should probably change your clothes."

"Oh, thanks for reminding me! Howl always did it, so I don't even have any idea what kind of stuff they wear over there, other than it shows off a scandalous amount of skin."

Calcifer chuckled at that. "I'll help you, then." He flew out of the grate and pointed at a book. "Look in that book on page 478. There should be a spell that ought to do the trick. Tell your clothes that you want to wear a pair of jeans and a t-shirt." Sophie opened the book to the suggested page and then said the spell aloud, gently nudging her clothes to change their shape. When she finished, she looked down and saw the tight blue things that both Michael and Howl had worn when they had gone to Wales.

"Are these 'jeans' things supposed to be worn by men? What have you got _on_ me?"

"Don't worry. Jeans are all the rage. And they're worn by everyone. Men, women, boys, girls. I think you look quite nice in them."

"Err…thank you for the compliment, Calcifer." She took a stiff step. "How do people wear these things? They're too tight for me to breathe in."

"I know," Calcifer said leeringly.

Sophie rolled her eyes. "You're just as bad as Howl."

"We did share a heart once, you know."

But Sophie was already on her way through the door with the black blob side down. As soon as she was through she turned around and knocked on the door. She stood there for a minute and when no one came, she knocked again. She heard footsteps from inside the house, and then Megan opened the door a crack. "What do you want?" Sophie didn't think Megan recognized her.

"My name is Sophie, and I'm Howl's fiancée."

"Oh, it's _you_," Megan replied derisively, but made no move to let her in.

"May I come in and talk with you?"

Megan looked at her warily for a moment as if she were trying to decide whether or not she should slam the door in her face. To Sophie's surprise she didn't, but opened it completely and beckoned her in. She led her into the kitchen where she politely offered to make her some tea. Sophie accepted. While Megan was in the kitchen, Sophie looked around the room. There were lots of pictures of Mari and Neil at various ages. There were also a couple of large family photos, and there was a wedding photo where Megan looked radiantly happy. It was sort of striking to see that the woman was capable of being happy, rather than angry like she had been whenever Sophie had encountered her. Sophie was still looking at the photo in wonderment when Megan returned with a pot of tea and a pair of cups and saucers on a serving tray.

When they had both settled in their seats across from each other Megan began to speak. "So what are you doing here?" she asked cutting to the chase despite her seemingly polite formalities.

"I…wanted to come here on Howl's behalf. I know that what he did was really wrong, but he really cares about you and your family and it would mean a lot to him if you could come to accept our relationship."

"Where is Howell? If it means so much to him, why isn't he here to do this himself?"

"Well, he's away on business. Very important business, and so I decided to come in his stead."

"Business? That's a shock. And what kind of business is it?"

"Howl's…err…he's on a diplomatic mission of great importance…life and death stuff," Sophie added lamely.

Megan didn't seem to buy it, but she didn't press Sophie for more specifics. "Even so…I have no reason not to accept your relationship with my brother…other than that you tried to kidnap my children using some kind of hypnotism or something…I don't know what it was, but I don't like it, and I don't like you."

"You must believe me when I tell you that the woman you was not me."

"And why should I believe that?"

"Because it's true."

"Well, if it wasn't you, then who was it?"

It was then that Sophie realized the reason why Howl had not wanted her to come by herself. Megan was already skeptical about her, and Sophie knew that she could not lie convincingly. "She…she was one of Howl's old…lovers." Sophie choked on the word.

"And let me guess. She was angry with him and wanted to get back at him through his family." Sophie nodded. "Well, I can't say I'm surprised. This isn't the first time this has happened, although most of the women didn't do more than ring the phone off the hook calling looking for Howell, or at the most showing up at the door shouting out pathetically. This new one really took the cake though." Megan noticed Sophie's discomfort. "You seem surprised, though. Did he not tell you about all the women that he's been through?" Sophie nodded. "Well, then you should realize that my brother is a rake. A no good scoundrel who couldn't be faithful to one woman if his life depended on it."

Sophie shook her head. "That's not true. He may have courted a lot of women in the past, but that doesn't mean he can't be faithful."

Megan laughed. It was a cold harsh sound like ice shattering in a frozen pond. "You poor silly girl. What kind of lies has he been filling your head with? He can be sweet and charming, I'll give him that…but he doesn't know how to maintain long-term relationships. He likes the chase and once he's gotten you, he throws you away. And I've had to pick up the pieces of too many of the girls that he's left broken hearted. So why don't you do yourself and me a favor and ditch him?"

Sophie stood up, her face flushing with fury. "I can't believe that you're his sister! How can you say such terrible things about him? He may be a little irresponsible sometimes…he never should have allowed that woman to come after you…and he has been something of a philanderer, but he is capable of deep feeling, and the feelings he has for me are real!"

Megan stood up, facing her challenge. "I say this as his sister because I know him better than anyone else in the whole world. I've been taking care of him since he was a little baby. And I've watched him break heart after heart. You will be no different."

The sheer confidence in Megan's voice began to get to Sophie, devastating what little control she had over her emotions. She felt her heart fluttering queerly. Her skin felt clammy and she had trouble catching her breath.

"My god, what's happened to you!" Megan suddenly exclaimed. "You look pale as death." Sophie feared the worse, and then knew that it had happened when Megan let out a screech of fear.

Sophie closed her eyes and began to chant over and over. "I'm not here. I'm not here. I'm not here." She wished with all her heart that she were back in the moving castle and that she had listened to Howl when he told her not to try to make up with his sister. When she opened her eyes she was standing in front of the fireplace with Calcifer looking at her worriedly.

"Sophie? Are you all right?"

"How…how did I get here?"

"I think you wished yourself here."

"I did? How did I do that?"

"You have great magical abilities. More than even I thought at first."

"I…I do?"

"Yes, I believe so. But they are unmeasured and untrained. And I think you might have put a strain on them just now. Sit down."

She reached for the chair that always remained next to the fireplace and collapsed into it.

"What happened, Sophie?"

"I spoke with Megan."

"That bad, huh?"

"She said the most horrible things about Howl…and I began to believe them."

"Megan is just bitter that her own marriage turned out so abysmally. You shouldn't let anything she said discourage you from marrying Howl," Calcifer said dismissively.

"Well, what she said really upset me, and I turned…I…it was like I was cursed by the witch again."

"That's not good."

"Then I must have disappeared because when I opened my eyes I was here. I fear I've made a bigger mess of everything," Sophie replied despairingly.

"Don't worry about it. Megan was bound to find out that magic really exists in the world some time. Howl will straighten everything out when he gets back."

"But he wouldn't have to straighten anything out if I had just listened to him and not gone there in the first place! And if I didn't turn into an old woman every time I get upset. Are you sure that the spell is broken on me?"

"Yes, I'm sure. With the Witch of the Waste dead, there's no way that any spell she put on you could be lingering. This is all you're doing, I'm afraid."

"So how do I make it stop?"

"You need to be more confident in yourself. You were fearless when you were under that spell, but now that you're you, you let everything get to you. That has nothing to do with magic. That's all in your head."

Before Sophie could ponder that idea too deeply, Michael came bounding into the room carrying a letter.

"Hello, Sophie! Hello, Calcifer!" he greeted, smiling brightly.

"Did you just come from visiting Martha?" Calcifer asked knowingly.

"Yes! She and I had the loveliest picnic in the park. She makes the best chocolate cake." Sophie couldn't help but laugh that the most memorable part of their time together was how good the food was.

"And what do you have in your hand?" Sophie asked.

"Oh, it's a letter from Howl."

"Really?"

"Oh, yes. And it came right on time too. He sends one almost every three days. Most of it has to do with the business, but he also likes to know what going on with everyone here."

"He does?" Sophie croaked, startled that Howl continued to keep up his correspondence with Michael.

"You don't know? I thought for sure he would write to you every day."

"I haven't gotten a letter from him in a week."

"I'm surprised. Maybe the mail is just behind in the Kingsbury area?"

Sophie tried to believe Michael's suggestion, but she could not dismiss Megan's words that Howl had become bored with her, especially since they echoed her own fears. "Maybe there's a letter in the mail today. I should probably get back to check."

"That's I good idea. I'm sure he's sent you something."

"Thanks, Michael. It's good to see you. And thanks, Calcifer, for your help earlier."

"So what are you going to do about your problem?" Calcifer asked.

"I guess I'll just have to change the way I think, won't I?" Sophie sighed.

When she finally made it home she raced to the desk in the main hall where all the mail was put when it arrived and was disappointed to find no letter from Howl. But she did find a letter she wasn't expecting. It was an invitation from Prince Justin to come visit the palace. Sophie remembered blindingly golden domes and climbing a mountain of stairs the last time she had gone to the palace to see the king. Just thinking about it made her sweat and fill with dread even though she doubted that she would be forced to climb the stairs like she had last time. She was surprised by the invitation, though. She thought that he had forgotten his entreaties that she come visit him so that he could do her some favor in return for the way she had saved his life. But obviously he hadn't.

Normally she would have turned down the invitation out of respect for Howl. Even though it was the Prince who had invited her, he was still a man who was not her husband, and she knew that she would be jealous if Howl spent time with other women. She tried not to wonder if Howl had to spend time with the experienced courtesans of the Strangian court. And at the moment she was disgruntled with Howl. If Howl had the time to write to Michael and Calcifer, then why didn't he have enough time to write to her, the woman he claimed was the one true love of his life?

Her return note got a quick response, and it was decided that she would visit Prince Justin at the castle in Kingsbury the very next day. Fanny was beside herself with excitement when Sophie told her about it at dinner. Her exuberance seemed to spill over to Sophie, who began to feel a little excited and nervous as well. She spent the night tossing and turning and asked Fiona what she thought about at least four different dresses that she tried on. She wanted to look extra special for the Prince even though she knew that it shouldn't matter. She finally decided on a simple pink gown whose skirt swished from side to side like a bell when she moved. She wore her hair up with pink roses in it, and curly tendrils falling down to caress the nape of her neck. She thought the whole effect was enchanting. Fanny told her that she looked irresistible.

Prince Justin's open-mouthed gape seemed to agree with that assessment since that was his reaction when he saw her. He told her that he found her to be the most charming creature he had ever seen and then escorted her into the large, comfortable royal carriage that would be taking them to the castle in Kingsbury. Sophie was somewhat surprised that Fanny did not insist on going with them and chaperoning, but only gave a wink and a smile to them both as she waved them away.

Sophie did not have much time to puzzle out Fanny's odd behavior as Prince Justin began apologizing immediately. "I really must apologize to you again for not arranging this sooner," he began when they turned the corner out of her neighborhood and on to the main road. "I wanted to, but as you can imagine with the way things are going in Strangia, I was rather busy planning and arranging contingencies if our two countries should come to war. Everyone hopes that Howl's idea will stave off such an outcome, though. So do you forgive me?"

Sophie couldn't help but blanch at the casual mention of Howl and how much danger she was in, but she only replied politely, "You are completely forgiven, my lord. As I told you before, you owe me nothing. You have already repaid me with your thanks."

"You are much too generous. But I am glad that you at least agreed to see me again. And I think you could use the distraction. I can only imagine how you must feel about Howl going away."

"If anyone can prevent this war, it's him," Sophie replied, pointedly leaving out the way she felt about it.

"I believe in him too. It's just that I feel a little ashamed that he is out there risking his life while I am here in the safety of my kingdom."

"He has quite a knack for self-preservation," Sophie replied dryly. "There isn't anything he wouldn't do if he thought it would save his neck."

"I'm glad to hear you are so confident in him."

Despite her seeming confidence in him, Sophie was beginning to have her doubts. Ever since Howl had slowed in his correspondence with her she wasn't sure that she trusted anything that he said anymore. She felt a little uncomfortable with the direction the conversation was going. Changing the subject, she asked, "So why are you taking me to the castle?"

The Prince was quick to explain. "I've gathered that you enjoy flowers. You must to work in that Flower shop in Market Chipping and you looked so lovely in the Smiths' garden. So I thought that I would show you the Royal Garden. It was started by my grandfather who was a magician in his own rights. A very powerful one. Unfortunately for my father and my brother and myself, we didn't inherit his talent with magic. But it's just as well. When someone has that kind of talent with magic he becomes a target. And many magicians challenged him in order to prove that that they were even more powerful."

"The Witch of the Waste was one, wasn't she? She told me that the feud between her and your family started with your grandfather."

"Yes, you're right. She challenged him…and he exiled her to the Waste." Sophie thought he might go on with further explanation, but he stopped there, making her think that there was something else that he was hiding. "Anyway," he continued, "My grandfather used his magic to create a beautiful garden within the palace, much the way that Howl does. I thought you might like to see it, to cheer you up."

"Why did you think I needed cheering up?"

"Well, with your fiancé gone, I assumed that you might be a little upset."

"Well, I suppose you're right about me. I miss Howl very much," she admitted softly.

"And that is completely understandable. Which is why you must let me try to entertain you."

"I agreed to come, didn't I?"

"And you won't regret it, I promise."

When they finally pulled up to the castle Sophie already felt much better than she had in days. The Prince had entertained her with court stories, and their conversation flowed freely from topic to topic, completely distracting her from all the heavy stuff that had been on her mind. And just as she had suspected, they had gone around to a side entrance so that they wouldn't have to climb the mountain of stairs. Prince Justin laughed when she mentioned her former fear.

He took her through his home, telling her a little history about each room that they passed until they got to a garden gate on the interior courtyard of the castle. He surprised her when he covered her eyes with his hands. They were warm and dry and she could feel the heat of him against her back through her clothes. "Why are you blindfolding me?"

"I want it to be a surprise." He gently pushed her forward until she felt that she was stepping on grass. But she knew that they were in a garden long before she felt the grass beneath her feet. The flowers around her had a very pungent scent. She smelled rose, and hibiscus, as well as tulip, hyacinth, lilac, hydrangea and a bunch of others. But even though the scent of the flowers warned her, she was still unprepared for the sight of the garden. When Prince Justin finally released her, she caught sight of the largest flowers she had ever seen in her life. The flower buds were bigger than her head, and the stems rose taller than her. She gasped in amazement.

"Good heavens! These are the largest flowers I've ever seen. I feel like I've been bewitched and put under a shrinking spell."

Prince Justin laughed. "Maybe you have."

"What if the whole world was actually under a spell, and it's really the plants that are bigger?" she joked.

"If that's true, then I'd hate to see what the bees really look like."

Sophie laughed. "How did you get the flowers to grow so big?"

"Magic. It was all my grandfather's doing. He did it for my grandmother. He dedicated this garden to her as a symbol of his love."

"Wow, that's incredibly sweet. He must have loved your grandmother a great deal."

"That he did. It's part of the reason why I feel so badly for my brother. I'm not sure if you've noticed, but he and his wife do not have a very happy marriage." Sophie hadn't really noticed, but then she didn't spend every day living in the same place they did. But it served as a warning that no matter how happy a couple may look on the outside, it is really hard to tell what's really going on the inside. "And I know that's not what my grandparents, or my parents wanted for him, since they both had such successful loving relationships."

"I'm sorry to hear that."

"It makes me despair that I'll ever find someone that I can love the way my grandparents and parents loved each other."

"I'm sure you will," Sophie said reassuringly. She smiled what she hoped was an encouraging smile despite how she wasn't sure about anything anymore, especially when it came to love. But the Prince didn't seem to notice if she was unsure about anything and only smiled back warmly.

"Thank you for saying that. I have to say that Howl is a very lucky man. I think you are absolutely splendid. And if you weren't already taken I would want to make you my princess."

Sophie blushed warmly at the Prince's compliment. Feeling a little flustered she walked away to explore a different part of the garden. The Prince followed her, and told her as much about each flower as he could. As well as being taller that most plants, each had a longer lifespan as well, like that almost of a tree, and because of that they had been given personal names. There was a giant pink rose named Leila, and a bright yellow tulip named Gervaise. Sophie laughed when Prince Justin told her that there was a lily named Lily.

When they had gone around the large enclosed garden, Sophie turned to the Prince appreciatively. "Thank you, my lord, for showing me the garden. It is really beautiful. And you managed to get my mind off a few things that have been bothering me. But I fear the time has gotten away from us. I really should return home."

"You are quite welcome," Prince Justin replied graciously, bringing her hand to his lips to kiss. Sophie blushed and the Prince released her hand allowing her to walk away.

Before they could return to the garden entrance the Prince was accosted by a squealing two-year-old.

"Unca!" the little Princess Valeria cried out, raising her arms to signal that she wished to be picked up, which her uncle was more than happy to oblige her by doing. She promptly buried her face in his neck since she had just spotted Sophie and was shy.

"Hullo, darling," Justin greeted softly, rubbing his niece's back. "Do you want to say 'hi' to my friend Miss Sophie?"

The little girl shook her head in his shoulder. Justin smiled deprecatingly. Sophie shrugged her shoulders beginning to feel as nervous as she always did around children. She didn't know why. She had helped to raise both Lettie and Martha, but they were _hers_ and there was something unnerving about other people's children. Valeria was no different. Sophie tried to greet the little girl, but felt herself becoming flustered. That feeling did not go away when Justin began to stare at her in shock. "My dear, Sophie, you're old!"

"What?" her voice crackled, but she didn't necessarily feel the way she had when she had been cursed before. She gasped when she looked down and saw her familiar gnarled hand. Her startled cry got Valeria's attention, who then looked at her and grinned. "I know you!" She clapped her hands and then reached for Sophie who obliged her by holding her. "At least one of us is pleased with my appearance," Sophie said wryly.

"Sophie, did you do that?" Prince Justin asked awed.

"Yes, I did."

"That's amazing!" Sophie was surprised by his reaction. She thought he would be disgusted by her aged appearance, but he only seemed impressed with her magical abilities. "Can you control it?" he asked.

Sophie put Valeria down, who scrambled away after her nurse who had led her to her uncle in the first place, and began to concentrate with her eyes closed. When she opened them again she was back to her old-younger self. "Yes, I can undo it…but I always seem to do it unconsciously. Howl says it's a self-defense mechanism."

"That's evidence of some powerful magic," Justin replied. "Changing your age like that is almost like manipulating time…"

"How do you know so much about magic?"

"Even though I don't have a magical bone in my body, I've always been interested in it. I thought about studying it in University, but my brother needed me to be his general and I had a knack for it, so here I am." Sophie sensed some regret about that decision. "But I would read books about magic in my spare time. It's also the reason why I became such close friends with Wizard Suliman."

"And why not with Howl?"

"He wouldn't waste his time on a person who has no magical ability like me. That's probably why he has an interest in you—" He cut himself off, looking away guiltily. "I probably shouldn't have said anything."

"No, what did you mean?"

"Nothing."

"No! I want to know."

"Well, you have to know that his longest relationship was with the Witch of the Waste, but everyone else he soon got bored with."

"Right. Because he had no heart enjoyed the challenge of making them love him."

"That and every woman who fell in love with him had no magical abilities to resist him."

"Why would he want someone who had magical abilities?"

"I'm guessing to break the curse on him. He had to know that only someone with powerful magic would be able to give his heart back. And that was you. Please forgive me, but I wonder how much longer it will be before he gets bored again."

"That's what everyone says. My sister. _His _sister. My mother. My mother's stepdaughter. Now you," Sophie said, beginning to get upset. She wondered at how everyone knew so much about Howl's former conquests. Was he really that notorious? And would that make her an even bigger fool for falling for him? "And everyone has such good arguments. I've only known Howl for a couple of months and most of that he spent courting one of my sisters."

"I'm very sorry for bringing it up. I only wanted to cheer you up, and now I think I've only made you feel worse. Please allow me to take you home."

It was then that Sophie looked down at her left and realized that her engagement ring was gone. She let out a startled cry. "Oh, no! My ring is gone! How could this have happened?" She immediately picked up her skirts to see if she had dropped it on the ground, and when she didn't see it, she began to backtrack frantically searching. The Prince began looking too, and signaled to his extravagantly dressed servants who had been standing silently on the sidelines to continue the search. After ten minutes of searching and nothing turned up, Sophie began to cry in earnest. She felt an enormous wave a guilt, wondering if she were being punished for doubting Howl and spending the day with the Prince.

Prince Justin tried to console her, telling her that his servants would find it if it were in the castle and asking her if it were possible that she left it at home since he didn't remember seeing it on her finger at all earlier. She told him that it was impossible that she had left it in her jewelry box since she never took it off. She began to despair that she would ever find it, and began to dread how she would tell Howl that she lost his beautiful ring.

When the servants were unable to turn up anything after an hour, Sophie turned to Prince Justin in defeat. "Please take me home, my lord. I fear that I have overstayed my welcome and I'm really upset that I lost my ring."

"Of course, my dear," the Prince replied. "But please allow me to invite you again. I hate to think that you might never return."

"I really don't think I should," Sophie said guiltily.

"Please," the Prince implored, grasping her hand and pulling her toward him until she was forced to look up into his pleading face. When she looked into his eyes, she was once again startled by their brilliance, just like she had been before in the garden at the Smiths. And when he looked at her like that she couldn't think of any reason why she shouldn't give in to his request. Especially with him reasoning with her so logically, telling her that she should not feel guilty for spending time with him when she deserved to enjoy her own amusements, and that she ought not to think of it as a betrayal of Howl when their time spent together was of a completely innocent nature. And what they had shared had been harmless, and he made her feel good about herself, and when she was with him she forgot about how much she missed Howl, which was exactly the point. With those thoughts in mind, she agreed to return to the castle the next day.

* * *

A/N 2: Well this chapter is even longer than the one before it, which I didn't think would be possible. And I feel like that at the same time each chapter is getting longer, they get more repetitive too. And I think they're rushed too. I'm really sorry about that, but the good stuff is coming. But it might be a while until the next chapter, since I'm going to England for the summer. I hope I get the chance to go to Wales, though, and hear some authentic musical or unmusical Welshmen. That'd be hot :)


	7. In which war is declared

**Chapter 6: In which war is declared**

The next morning Sophie woke up feeling rather glum. It was cloudy outside, and her throat felt scratchy. _Oh, botheration, _she thought, _please don't let me get sick. _When she sneezed, she realized that it was too late. She decided to stay in bed for a little while longer.

As the morning got later and later and Sophie still had not gotten out of bed, Fiona began to worry about her. "Ma'am?" the little servant woman called as she peaked into the room. "Are ye all right?"

"I'm sick," Sophie groaned.

"What's wrong with you?" Fiona asked, walking fully into the room.

"Everything." Sophie hated nothing more than to be sick. She could count on one hand the number of times that she had been sick in her life. When she was very little she had the measles. She remembered that her mother, her _real _mother had taken care of her. It was one of her only memories of her. Then when she got older she caught a couple of colds from her sisters, who were constantly spreading their germs. But Sophie knew that if she kept everyone as clean as possible, they would not get sick as often. Some of the other people in town thought that she was strange for her practices. It was generally regarded as an alliance with the devil that kept her from getting sick, but it was something that she read in a book once, and she had not seen the harm in trying it. Since it had seemed to work, she kept doing it. But this time was different.

What had started as a tickle in her throat had spread to an ache in her whole body. She felt cold no matter how many blankets she had on, and even though it was late summer. Her sore throat also made her feel slightly nauseous. It was the curse of the dreaded summer cold.

"Would ye like me to get ye some tea?" Fiona asked.

"If it's not too much trouble. I would get it myself, but I think if I move I might throw up."

With that Fiona gave her a hard look that was indecipherable. She pressed her hand against her forehead and felt that it was warm and dry. That seemed to satisfy her somewhat, so she began to bustle about the room preparing the tea. When she was finished, she helped Sophie to sit up despite her protests that she could do it herself. No sooner had the cup touched her lips than Sophie had sprung out of bed to empty the contents of her stomach, which was not very much at all, into the chamber pot. When she was through, Fiona began patting her head with a cool wet washcloth and was softly clucking with motherly concern.

When Sophie had returned to the bed and lain down again, Fiona sat down beside her and asked, "Are you sure there's nothin' else ye want to tell me?"

Sophie looked up at her with sad, miserable eyes. "What do you mean?"

"When was the last time ye had yer courses?" Fiona asked directly.

Sophie blushed bright pink. No one had ever asked her such a personal question before. Fanny had simply explained that once a month she would bleed and that she would need to wear special cloths, and that she should not ever let a man touch her there unless she were married. After that Fanny had never spoken of it again. Sophie herself had gone too the library to find out as much information about it as she could. There wasn't a lot, but it gave her a rudimentary education about human reproductive systems. She'd always been skeptical about the story of storks who brought children to grateful couples. "I don't remember."

Fiona let out soft curse. Sophie was surprised when she heard Howl's name mentioned.

"I'm sorry, but Fiona, what does Howl have to do with my being sick?" Sophie asked confusedly.

Fiona softly clucked. "My poor dear. I can't believe I allowed 'im to do this to ye, too."

"Do _what_ to me?" Sophie asked, alarmed.

"Are ye sure yer not sick 'cause yer with child?"

"But I'm not married!"

"Ye don't 'ave to be married to 'ave a child."

"Even still, I'm not going to have a baby. What made you think such a silly thought?"

"Are ye sure?"

"Well, I'm not exactly sure about the entire process..." Sophie had also overheard the other women who worked at the hat shop talk sometimes, but they were usually careful not to let her or her sisters overhear too much since Fanny was pretty strict about the kind of conversation she thought was appropriate. What she'd gleamed from the leftover pieces of conversation was that the act of making a baby was supposed to be rather pleasurable. And the women would certainly get mad if a man tried to do it with another woman! Sophie continued, "But since I'm not married, nor have I kissed anyone, then I can't have a baby!"

"So ye never let that wicked man touch ye?"

"Only a little bit," Sophie replied sheepishly.

"Exactly how much is 'a little bit?'" Fiona asked sternly.

"I let him hold my hand, and hug me. And he's kissed my forehead. But never my lips." Sophie frowned remembering the time that he had almost kissed her on the lips, but they had been interrupted.

"Good heavens, child! Yer an innocent one. That's fer sure." Her tone was astonished, but she also looked relieved. "Let's make sure it stays that way. Promise me girl, never let 'im touch ye. Only bad things will happen."

"Like have a baby?" Sophie thought that she wouldn't mind so much to have a baby that looked like Howl.

"Promise me, girl!" Fiona insisted.

"But we're engaged to be married!" She raised the hand that once held her engagement ring, and dejectedly lowered it again. She couldn't help but feel that losing her ring was a bad omen.

"Maybe, maybe not…" Fiona replied cryptically. "But until then, promise me," she urged. She leaned in closer, trying to stare her down.

Seeing that Fiona was quite serious, Sophie gave in. "I promise."

Fiona closed her eyes and nodded in relief. "That's a good girl." Then she opened her eyes and patted her on the shoulder soothingly. "Well, since we 'ave that all cleared up, how about I concentrate on getting' ye well?"

"I'm afraid all you can do is let it run its course."

"All right then. I'll get ye some more blankets. Ye just try to get ye some rest, eh?"

"Thank you, Fiona. I appreciate your concern. Would you tell my mother that I'm not feeling well today?"

"Of course, ma'am."

After Fiona settled some more blankets around her, she left, leaving Sophie to contemplate about their strange conversation, and why she would have asked her to make such a promise. She could not help but feel more intrigued by whatever it possibly was that had Fiona so adamant against her doing it. It made her wish all the more that Howl was back and they could get married so that they could do whatever it was that Fiona did not want her to do.

* * *

When Prince Justin heard that Sophie was sick, he immediately had one of the Royal Physicians go to the Smiths' home to make sure that she was not in any danger. When the doctor gave him a good prognosis, he sent her a dozen yellow roses and a note telling her that he hoped she would be well again soon so that she could come visit him again.

Sophie grimaced. She already felt uncomfortable because the prince had sent his doctor to see her over something as simple as a common cold. She did not want to feel indebted to him anymore than she already did because he deemed to spend time with her. And she still did not quite understand why he wanted to spend so much time with her. Didn't he have more important things to do? But Fanny just smiled with pleasure at the show of interest the prince continued to invest in her stepdaughter and insisted that she send him a thank you card when she began to feel better.

This note had an immediate response requesting that he be allowed to see her and make sure for himself that she was on the mend. With Fanny staring down at her intensely, Sophie had no choice but to acquiesce.

The very next morning the prince paid a call promptly at ten. He looked distraught. His usually impeccable appearance was in disarray. His hair was unkempt, his eyes hollow and worn-out, his dress uniform unbuttoned at the collar. He rushed to her side and took her hand into his own. "Sophie, my dear, please tell me that you are all right! It has been maddening to me to have to stay away for so long, unsure of how you are doing. You look so pale." He raised a hand to brush against her face. "Your cheeks have lost some of their warmth of color. Have you not been sleeping well?"

Sophie flinched at his touch and leaned away. "I am quite well, milord. It was just a cold. While I have felt a little under the weather, there was never any danger of anything more serious. Surely my condition isn't the reason why you seem so unkempt?"

The prince slowly lowered his hand. "I'm glad to hear that. My doctor told me that I was being foolish for worrying so much, but—" He turned away. Sophie waited for him to continue, but instead he stood up and walked away from her, wringing his hands.

Sensing that something was bothering the prince Sophie asked, "Is there something you wanted to tell me."

Turning back towards her he nodded. "Yes. I'm not sure if you know, but the negotiations between our land and Strangia are not going very well. War seems imminent."

"I'm sorry to hear that. But I almost hope war will be declared if it means that Howl will return to me that much sooner."

The prince simply nodded. Looking down at her left hand he added, "You must let me reimburse you for the loss of your ring. You must know how awful I feel about it, especially since it was on my property."

Sophie responded conciliatorily, "It wasn't your fault, your highness, and there is really nothing that can replace it. The only thing I would like more than that ring would be for Howl to be back here with me. And that you can not give me."

Sighing with disappointment, he walked back towards her and dropped to one knee in front of her, again grasping her by the hands. "Even after all this time you still want Howl?" He lifted his right hand to brush back a lock of her hair tenderly. "When was the last time that you heard from him? How do you know that he's still devoted to you?"

"Of course I want Howl!" Sophie cried defensively, trying to pull away. But he wouldn't let her. "I love him. And no matter how far apart we are, that will never change."

"But I can give you so much more, Sophie!" he urged. "I can give you entire rooms filled with gold, wardrobes filled with thousands of all those beautiful dresses and fabrics that you like so much, access to all the libraries in my father's kingdom so that you can read to your heart's content. Anything you want, if you'll let me give it to you."

For a moment Sophie felt his words pulling at her from the outside in. The room began to spin so she focused on the prince whose eyes seemed to being drawing her into his soul. She saw no color or light, and could not concentrate on anything other than his words. _"What are you doing to me?" _she asked. Or at least she thought she asked. _"What do you want from me?"_

"All I want is your heart, Sophie."

He leaned in, and her eyes fluttered closed. Her heart that was already thumping loudly in her chest sped up. She felt his lips brush against hers—

"Soph—" Michael walked into the room, coming to a screeching stop when he saw her in such a compromising position. "I'm, I'm s-sorry," he stuttered. "I didn't mean to interrupt, it's just that I just heard you were sick, and I knew Ho-wl," he paused at that, his voice breaking awkwardly, "Howl would want to know that you're all right. But I can see that you are, so I'll just leave you be."

"No, wait! Michael!" Sophie exclaimed, standing up. "This isn't what you think this is!" But Michael had already turned around and left the room.

She turned to the prince and slapped him. "How dare you! First you make the pretense of caring about my relationship with Howl by offering to buy me a replacement ring, then you try to propose…what? Marriage? Somehow I find that hard to believe! Then you have the audacity to kiss me! I can't believe I ever trusted you!"

"Can't you?" The prince asked skeptically, raising an eyebrow. "You wanted so hard to believe in Howl, but somehow you can't make yourself trust him, and with good reason. And then I come along, and I'm there, I make you forget about how lonely you are and how much you miss Howl, and I make you feel good, and you _can_ trust me. Is it really so surprising that you would? Think about that." Before she could respond, he stood up and gently dusted off his trousers. "I shall take my leave of you now. But I hope you take what I said seriously and think about what I have to offer. If you change your mind, you know how to get in contact with me." With that he left leaving behind a devastated Sophie. The most devastating aspect of it all was her fear that he was right.

* * *

Two days later, Sophie was well on her way to feeling better physically, while emotionally her feelings were just as turbulent and unsure as they had been since the Prince came to visit her. She was happily surprised, therefore, when Lettie came to see her. It had been weeks since the last time that they saw each other—Midsummer's day, the day that the Witch of the Waste and her fire demon had attacked, to be exact.

After Fiona showed Lettie into the yellow morning room, Sophie gestured for her to sit next to her on the settee and join her for tea.

"What has gotten into you, Sophie?" was the first thing to come out of Lettie's mouth. Not "I hope you're feeling better since you've been sick," or "I'm sorry that I haven't seen you in over two months." Always straightforward and to the point Lettie was.

"What do you mean?"

"You've been the most popular topic of gossip at court these days." As an apprentice to Wizard Suliman she had been required to go court a couple of times. It was there that she had heard about an affair between her eldest sister and the Prince. "Did you know that?"

"No, I hadn't heard. Not that anyone would admit to _me _that they were talking about me behind my back," she responded sardonically.

"It's become a huge scandal." Lettie's eyes went wide for emphasis. "I'm surprised Fanny hasn't locked you in your bedroom because of the shame of it all."

"Somehow, I imagine that Fanny is as unaware of the gossip as I am."

"Fanny may be dense sometimes, but she's not _that _dense."

Sophie didn't even bother to try to scold Lettie for her irreverent tone towards Fanny. "So what are they saying about me?"

"They're saying that being the wife of the First Royal Wizard wasn't enough for you and that you've been gunning for Prince Justin as well, which is why they claim you've been spending so much time with him. That doesn't explain why he's been spending so much time with _you._ But gossips never actually take the time to think about whether what lies they're spreading around make any sense. Anyway, they say that the Prince rebuffed you when you demanded that he ask you to marry him." Lettie left out the part where they also claimed that she _needed _him to marry her in order "to make an honest woman of her."

"Where could they possibly get such an idea from?"

"My guess is that all of the women are jealous of all the attention the Prince has been giving you, and all the older women are resentful that he's not paying any mind to any of their daughters. Some people also happened to notice how upset the Prince was after his last visit with you. To his credit, though, he has not deemed the gossip worthy enough to either confirm or deny."

"Well, of course, he wouldn't. It's not his reputation that's being wrecked."

"You shouldn't worry about it, Sophie," Lettie said dismissively. "I'm sure it will all blow over once Howl returns and you get married."

"I'm not so sure there will even be a wedding." Sophie held up her left hand where her diamond ring was conspicuously missing. "I didn't take it off. I lost it. That is an ominous sign, don't you think?"

"When did it happen?"

"It was at the Royal Palace."

"So you have been spending a lot of time with the Prince. I wasn't sure. I've been so busy with my studies with Ben—Wizard Suliman." Lettie smiled secretly at the mention of the magician's name. Sophie noticed.

"What are you smiling about?"

"I shouldn't tell you. I wouldn't want my happiness to overshadow your pain." That too was just like Lettie. Even though she claimed selflessness, it was obvious that she was bursting to spill her news.

"Just tell me."

"I have fallen in love!"

"With Wizard Suliman?"

"Yes!" Lettie exclaimed.

"How wonderful!" Sophie pulled Lettie into a tight embrace. "Tell me everything that happened!"

"Well, as you know, Wizard Suliman—Ben asked me to apprentice with him and I accepted. However, mother refused to let me move in with him, so I've been staying on at Mrs. Fairfax. But every morning he sends a carriage to come fetch me and then we go off and he teaches me magic." Lettie sighed dreamily and gazed off into space.

Sophie waited for her to continue, but when she didn't she gently nudged her sister. "And?"

Lettie's smile turned into a frown. "And I'm completely in love with him, but the man is either too shy, or so completely daft that he doesn't know that I'm in love with him. But I shouldn't say that. He's always a perfect gentleman to me, but not in that sickeningly besotted way that Wizard Howl was. And once he even serenaded me with his guitar. But I think that he's got so much on his mind that he doesn't know how to express it. And there is the fact that he's much much older than me. I believe he's even older than Howl. I'm afraid he only thinks of me as a little girl, or worse his student."

"That does pose a problem," Sophie said consolingly.

"The biggest thing distracting him is, of course, this looming war. He's already mad that Howl got First Wizard over him, and now that he's gone to Strangia, Ben has been working like crazy trying to prove that he is just a good a wizard as Howl. It's all I can do to get him to relax a little with me. He's wound up so tight."

"He's lucky that he has you to care for him."

"Lucky is right. If I had any control of this, I'd never have let such a wretched emotion as love overtake me. I planned to become a great sorceress on my own, and never marry if I could help it."

Sophie could not help but concur. If she had only known what would happen, she would have steeled herself against Howl, gray-and-scarlet suit or no.

"So anyway, what happened between you and the Prince?"

Sophie was unfazed by the quick turn in topics by her sister. She began to explain herself. "Ever since Howl left I had been writing him letters every day, but when he stopped writing me, I stopped writing him as often. And when Prince Justin asked me to spend time with him, I said yes. I've been to the palace several times, and to the races, and he took me to the opera once. And every time I'm with him, I forget about Howl. It's like he doesn't even exist!"

"That's understandable. The prince is probably only trying to repay you for saving his life. And Howl, too, by making sure that you are all right while he is away. There's nothing wrong with letting your friends cheer you up during your separation."

"But I keep thinking, if Howl were gadding about with other girls in Strangia, I know I would be madder than a hive of hornets! And I think it's more than friendly. Lettie, he tried to kiss me!"

"Did you let him?"

"No! Of course not! I told him that I never wanted to see him again."

"Then let that be the end of it. When Howl returns, he'll never have to know. And then you can get married."

"There's just one thing, though. Michael saw us. He walked in on us just as the Prince kissed me. Then he left before I had a chance to explain. I'm sure he'll tell Howl."

"Then you'll just have to explain to Howl just the way you've explained it to me. He'll understand if he loves you! He hasn't been very communicative either, what with not writing to you anymore! It wouldn't surprise me if he was trying to woo some girl in the Strangian court."

"Don't say that! Even if it's true, I don't want to know about it. I just want him to come home and then we can put this all behind us."

"I still don't trust him, Sophie. Not meaning to toot my own horn or anything, but if he could fall that easily in and out of love with me, then are you sure that he is truly in love with you?"

The truth was that as much as Sophie wanted to trust him, she was beginning to have her doubts. As she stared at her sister, it felt like more proof that she should give up on Howl. First it was Fanny, then his _own _sister, and now both her sisters. And she still hadn't heard from him, and had been too ashamed of what he had seen to ask Michael if he had gotten anymore. Seeing the truth in her eyes, all Lettie could do was pull her into her arms and hold her.

* * *

Howl could not believe what his eyes were telling him as he read his most recent letter from Michael. He had been looking forward to taking a break from his busy schedule of meetings and demonstrations (that were not going very well) in order to hear from his friends, and hopefully, learn why Sophie was not responding to his letters. But with every sentence he began to give in to the despair that had been haunting him for weeks. _I'm not sure how to tell you this, _the letter said, _but I saw Sophie kissing Prince Justin... _Every moment that he was away from Sophie he feared that she would be tempted by someone who could give her all the things that he couldn't; all the things that she deserved. But he had never imagined that it would be Prince Justin. And the proof was in the letter from Michael. And the fact that he had not received a letter from Sophie herself in weeks.

When he finished reading, in that moment he cursed the King for sending him on this mission that was deteriorating closer and closer to a declaration of war with every minute, he cursed himself for not being good enough for Sophie to wait for, and he cursed Sophie for her perfidy.

Before he could give in to the tears that threatened to overflow, his solitude was interrupted by even more bad news. Christian, Howl's diplomatic advisor, knocked on the door and then came in declaring, "I have bad news Howl. The Strangians seem determined not to compromise on their demands for absolute sovereignty, and our King isn't prepared to give it to them. So that means war."

Howl looked at him miserably. "Then I've failed my country."

"You did your best, Howl. We all did. Now it's time for us to return home and prepare for the inevitable."

Howl simply stared at him, feeling like a complete failure at everything he had tried to accomplish. He had dedicated almost twelve hours a day almost every day for the past two months trying to dazzle the King of Strangia, courting his daughter Beatrice, while at the same time demonstrating the power of his magic in a subtle threat to show what they would be up against if they did decide to pursue war, and all for nothing. And it seemed that his failure there in Strangia was also the cause for his failure at home in his relationship with Sophie. Looking at the outcome he wished he had devoted as much time as he did there to ensuring that Sophie was as madly in love with him as he was with her. But as he stared at Christian and thought about the futility of the political situation, he refrained from giving into despair over Sophie. Perhaps the Prince was a better man. He was certainly richer and more powerful. But Howl was a wizard who had spent the past four years of his life womanizing the ladies in this world. He was not about to go down without a fight. Prince or no prince, he was going to fight for Sophie because he knew without a doubt that she was his one true love.

"I must leave at once," Howl said finally.

"Yes, sir. I will make the arrangements at once. We should be back in Kingsbury in a number of days."

_In only a few days I will be able to see Sophie again, _Howl thought after Christian left. However, he feared that a few more days would still be too long, and that by the time he returned all would be lost.

* * *

Sophie was curious as to Michael's reaction to seeing her with the Prince, but too embarrassed to go to the castle to ask him. Ever since Lettie had come to see her she had begun to notice that people were staring at her strangely as if they expected her to grow a second head. She supposed that stories of her "affair" were spreading quickly. A petty, vengeful part of her hoped that Michael had written Howl to tell him, too, if only to get some sort of reaction out of him. If not getting anymore letters from her could not propel him into writing back to her, perhaps hearing that she was moving on would. However, she still hoped that he cared for her, and if he did then he would be undoubtedly hurt by such a revelation and the last thing that Sophie had ever wanted to do was hurt Howl. Pondering these possibilities Sophie thought that she ought to at least ask Martha about Michael, since he had surely told her, yet as her sister she would still allow her to tell her side of the story.

Telling Fiona to tell Fanny that she was going to Market Chipping to see her sister, Sophie set off for Cesari's. When she entered, she noticed that everyone in the story went completely quiet until someone coughed conspicuously, and then everyone began to whisper. As soon as Martha saw her, she asked Mrs. Cesari to be allowed to take a break, which was immediately given because Martha was one of their best employees. Martha grabbed Sophie by the arm and rushed her off to a back stockroom.

"I was wondering when you'd get up the nerve to come see me. And I don't mean because of the silly people gossiping about you."

Ignoring Martha's admission that she was aware of the gossip, Sophie asked, "Has Michael written to Howl?"

"Yes."

"Does Michael hate me terribly?"

"He's incredibly angry with you, Sophie. He told me that if he had not seen it with his own eyes he would not have believed it of you. Hearing it of you, I still can't quite believe it, but I trust Michael and that he would not make up something like that. He has no reason to. So now I want you to tell me what happened."

"As you know, I've been spending a lot of time with Prince Justin. It seemed like a harmless way to pass the time while Howl was away. He paid attention to me and got my mind off how much I missed Howl. I thought it was totally innocent, and it _was_ on my part, but apparently the Prince thought it was more and he tried to kiss me. That was when Michael showed up. But I swear to you that I never kissed him, and if I had known that he had romantic feelings for me, I never would have spent so much time with him!"

"I believe you, Sophie. That's what I tried to tell Michael. I told him that he ought to give you the benefit of the doubt, or at least ask you about it before he went running off to tell Howl. But did he listen to me? No." Martha shook her head.

"Well, I guess there's nothing I can do now, but wait. Maybe Howl's so enraptured in his new courtesan that he doesn't even care about me anymore. At least then he won't be hurt by the news."

"But what about you? Aren't you still hurting?"

"I've always known that Howl was scoundrel. I went into this with my eyes wide open, so I have no one to blame but myself."

"You know, Michael doesn't understand why Howl hasn't written to you. He asks about you in every letter he writes to Michael. He's asked both Michael and Calcifer to make sure that you were all right, as if they were your guardians. And even though he says that he misses you and wonders why you haven't written him, he's also said that he was glad that you had found someone who makes you happy to spend time with. That's why Michael feels partially responsible for what has happened. He thinks that if he had spent more time with you then you would have stayed faithful."

"I _have _been faithful!"

"Well, that's kind of hard for him to believe, you understand?"

"Yes, I know. And that's all my fault."

"No, Sophie. I don't think it's really anyone's fault. Howl has been gone for months now. You are allowed to spend time with other people and not be miserable. And while Michael may believe that Howl has been faithful to you, I'm skeptical about the honesty of his letters. We all know how well he can string together a few words. It could all be artifice."

"Well, thanks for telling me about what he wrote. Do you think you could tell Michael what I said?"

Martha nodded. "Of course I will."

"Then I should probably let you get back to work."

Martha and Sophie hugged. Then Martha showed Sophie the way out. Martha made a point to glare at all the people in the pastry shop as a show of solidarity with her sister. It made Sophie feel better. She was glad that Martha told her everything. Now all she had to do was wait for Howl to return home.

* * *

When Howl finally made it back to Kingsbury three days later, he was first debriefed. Not only did he have to endure the King's disappointment, but he could have sworn that there was a look of glee in Ben Suliman's expression. He only fleetingly thought to wonder if there might be a demotion in his future. He didn't rightly care, though. The only thing he could think about was getting to see Sophie again, the way the sunlight glinted off her red-gold hair, her eyes sparkled with health and youth, and her skin radiated beauty.

Of course, he managed to run into everyone butSophie at court. He could tell that something was keeping the gossipmongers salivating, but every time that he asked someone about it, they would change the subject. That let him know immediately that _he _was the object of their wagging tongues.

He was the subject of their gossip to some extent, but he wasn't aware that the one whom they were really talking about was Sophie until he ran into Mrs. Johnson. When she saw him, her entire face just lit up with anticipation. She deliberately sauntered over to him.

"Mrs. Johnson," Howl said, nodding cordially to her, even though she was the last person he wanted to talk to. _She might tell me what she knows, though, since she gossips more than a dog pees on fire hydrants, _Howl thought.

"Wizard Pendragon," she replied politely. Then she sidled up next to him until she could whisper in his ear. "Why do you look so morose? You shouldn't worry about the war thing. There are too many people too set on this war to let something as insignificant as a peace treaty step in their way. Some people see what you did as doing the country a favor, so that we could play all our diplomatic cards, even though all the while we've been gunning for this ever since Strangia decided to declare independence."

"That is the least of my worries."

"Oh, then you must be upset about The Prince and Sophie."

"What about them?" Howl demanded.

"You haven't heard?" Mrs. Johnson asked incredulously.

Howl shook his head. "Michael wrote me, but I'd like to hear the details from Sophie herself."

"Well, if you'd like to hear what happened from an impartial point of view I can tell you."

"I highly doubt your impartiality."

"Nonetheless, you'll listen." Howl didn't say anything, so Mrs. Johnson took it as her cue to continue. "Sophie has made a spectacle of herself cavorting around with the Prince. First it was a tour of the castle, then the city, and the countryside. All of it alone without a chaperone. Now that's not enough for anything but conjecture, but then suddenly the Prince stopped seeing her. And as her sister by-law, I got hold of the entire story. It's so ironic isn't it?"

"What are you talking about?"

"You who have hurt so many women with your heartlessness have finally fallen in love, only to have your heart broken in return."

"Stop speaking in riddles and just tell me what's going on!"

"Fine. The truth is, your virtuous, faithful Sophie is nothing but a common tramp who has somehow gotten her claws into the Prince. And for the life of me I cannot see _what_ you men see in her. Perhaps it is a certain _easiness _in her expression. A man knows that all one need do to get her to—"

"And what you saw this with your own two eyes?" Howl scoffed.

"Maybe, just maybe. And I wasn't the only one. You should ask around."

"I will," Howl said calmly, even though all he wanted to do was run out of there and find Sophie. He managed to stay until the King dismissed him, then he left as quickly as he could.

Despite his rush to get to Sophie, however, Howl decided to that he must talk with Michael first in order to be absolutely certain of what exactly he was accusing her of doing in his absence. Michael had only written of one kiss, but Howl wondered if he thought there were more. If perhaps it was only just an innocent stolen kiss, or if there were feelings involved, indicating an affair. One look at Michael told him to fear the worst.

"I don't know what's going on with Sophie," Michael explained sadly, "but I know that she's been spending a lot of time with the Prince. And I know what I saw. I'm sorry that I was the one to write you such news. I never would have imagined it of Sophie in a million years. But Calcifer thought I ought."

Calcifer concurred from his place among the logs in the fireplace, his demonic face filled with worry. "I convinced him that you would want to know. That you deserve to know."

"Thank you for your honesty," Howl responded. Then he squared his shoulders. "Now it's time for me to confront my errant bride-to-be."

"Or not to be is more like it," Michael muttered beneath his breath as he saw his teacher depart from the castle orange-blob side down.

* * *

A/N: Sorry for the long delay in between updates. I've always intended to continue this story, but I allowed myself to make excuses for not writing in so long. Really, it all boils down to pure laziness. Hopefully, it won't be so long before the next update, especially since I've already got some of it already written.

I hope this chapter lives up to the ones before it. Since it's been a while since I've written, I'm afraid that this chapter isn't very cohesive. So please let me know if I've messed up the continuity somehow, or something doesn't make sense. I'm aware that Sophie's mother died when she was two, so it's unlikely that she remembered her taking care of her, BUT I figured that if George Lucas can get away with Leia remembering her mother who died in childbirth, then I can say that Sophie remembers her mother. On the other hand, that's probably not a good reason since Lucas is such a complete hack, who almost managed to destroy my love of the Star Wars Universe. So if it really bothers you that much let me know lol Also, anything else you want to tell me, feel free to do so. Even if you just want to tell me how awesome I am :P I appreciate all of my reviews.

Anyway, Wales was awesome. I learned some interesting things about the country that I hope to be able to incorporate into the story. I figured that Howell was a pretty common Welsh name, but I didn't realize that Howell is a historical figure, a Welsh king whose reign was unusually peaceful in comparison to other kings. So, somehow, I doubt that our Howl is based on him :)


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